The CESF Collaboration Champion Award is presented by the Community Engaged Scholarship Forum to recognize a member of the University of Pittsburgh community or a community partner who has made significant contributions to the University of Pittsburgh’s culture of collaboration, further sustaining and supporting the institution’s commitment to strengthening communities through teamed work.
In 2020, the CESF Planning Committee selected the awardee in recognition of her grassroots leadership efforts to institutionalize engagement. In subsequent years, open nominations will be accepted via cesf.pitt.edu and evaluated by the CESF planning committee.
2020 Awardee
The 2020 CESF Collaboration Champion awardee is Holly Hickling, academic community engagement advisor at the University Honors College.
Hickling helps students to connect their academic interests to meaningful community engagement opportunities, including internships, long-term volunteer opportunities, and community-based research.
As the former chair of the Academically Based Community Engagement (ABCE) committee and associated Idea Exchange event, Hickling has been an active participant in a number of collaborative campus initiatives. Her work with ABCE and the Idea Exchange has created strong institutional interest in how engaged scholarship can be celebrated and widely shared among colleagues and across disciplines.
Hickling advises the student clubs FORGE, Pitt Prison Outreach, Global Brigades, and international service learning. She has served on the CEC Internal Advisory Council, the Senate Community Relations Committee, the Human Rights Working Group, Pitt Advocates, and Civic Pathways.