WSU Provost Honored Nationally for Community Involvement Vision, Leadership

June 5, 2015

OGDEN, Utah – Weber State University Provost Michael Vaughan was honored June 4 with the national William M. Plater Award for Leadership in Civic Engagement.

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities ( AASCU) created the award to recognize leadership for “undergraduate programs and activities that encourage greater knowledge, skills, experiences and reflection about the role of citizens in a democracy.”

In 2004, the same year he became provost, Vaughan established formally a civic engagement center on campus, now known as the Community Center for Engaged Learning (CCEL). With Vaughan’s vision and support, the center has flourished. The center engages 25-30 percent of Weber’s 26,000 students. In the 2014-15 academic year, 6,554 WSU students contributed 163,060 hours of community service. During Vaughan’s tenure, WSU’s formal community partnerships expanded to more than 130 community organizations, government entities and school districts.

Former WSU president Ann Millner noted in nominating material for the Plater Award, “While Dr. Michael Vaughan has developed programs and initiatives to support our community engagement work, he thinks strategically and systematically about developing the faculty talent and culture that will continue to enhance the quality and depth of this work at the university.”


Vaughan helped faculty incorporate civic engagement as a regular part of a student’s academic experience. In courses, designated as community engaged learning courses (CEL), students learn at least one of four civic lessons: civic knowledge, civic values, civic skills or civic action. More than 180 CEL-designated classes are taught in all seven colleges at the university.

Vaughan also helped establish Weber State’s active participation in the American Democracy Project (ADP). ADP’s 250 participating institutions of higher education sponsor activities to foster a future generation of informed, engaged citizens. WSU’s ADP student volunteers organize a full slate of national, state and local experts to discuss controversial community issues including gun control, economic inequality, health care and college athletics. They also host Constitution Week activities.

Vaughan, who will step down as provost at the end of June, has been appointed to serve on AASCU’s nationwide council to study economic inequality and its effects on democracy. He will lead the new WSU Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality. Vaughan is dedicated to providing educational opportunities that help pull individuals out of poverty.

“Michael’s seminal contribution to WSU was the creation of our Dream Weber tuition-assistance program, which leverages federal Pell grants to provide free tuition and fees for low-income students,” wrote WSU President Charles A. Wight in his nomination letter. “His analytical approach to data analysis and decision-making continues to advance our institutional mission by creating new opportunities to serve our community. He makes it easy to be president.”

The Plater Award, established in 2006, is presented annually to one of AASCU’s chief academic officers. Vaughan received an engraved commemorative plaque and a check for $1,000 during the annual meetings held in New Orleans.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.


For high-resolution photos, please visit the following link:

wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2015-photos/June-2015/i-3KN44bj/0/X2/IMG_0159-X2.jpg
 

Author:

Allison Barlow Hess, Director of Public Relations
801-626-7948 • ahess@weber.edu

Contact:

Brenda Kowalewski, Center for Community Engaged Learning director
 801-626-7737 • bkowalewski@weber.edu