The Marilyn Gittell Community-Engaged Activist Scholar Award (sponsored by SAGE) was established to highlight the importance of activist urban scholarship and promote the dissemination of work by activist urban scholars.
The inspiration for this award is the career of Dr. Marilyn Gittell, former Director of the Howard Samuels Center and Professor of Political Science at The Graduate School at City University of New York. Dr. Gittell was an outstanding scholar and a community activist who wrote seminal works on citizen participation, and was founding editor of Urban Affairs Quarterly, (now known as Urban Affairs Review). She was deeply committed to training young urban scholars of color and women, and taught them to understand the workings of democracy from the ground up, using the methods of rigorous field research. Over the course of her career, Dr. Gittell became well-known for research that dealt with difficult policy issues, that directly engaged the communities impacted by those issues, and that challenged both scholars and policymakers to consider the community impacts of policy actions. Thus, the award seeks to honor the contributions of a scholar whose research record shows a direct relationship between activism, scholarship and engagement with community(ies).
/ / / ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES / / /
The award focuses on the research of an individual who is, or has been, engaged in direct engagement with local community-based organizations and/or local residents around a policy area of high importance.
Applicants should be:
The applicant or the nominator must hold a current UAA membership.
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Applicants must submit the following:
/ / / PRIOR NOMINEES / / /
Starting in 2025, this award will no longer maintain a pool of prior nominees. Applicants are encouraged to reapply each year with updated materials.
The award recipient receives:
The award winner is selected by a committee appointed by the Governing Board Chair. The committee informs the Executive Director of the outcome. The Executive Office contacts the recipient.
(2026) AJ Kim, San Diego State University
(2025) Ana Paula Pimentel Walker, University of Michigan
(2024) Derek Hyra, American University
(2023) Gregory D. Squires, George Washington University
(2022) Loretta Lees, University of Leicester
(2021) Sally Nuamah, Northwestern University
(2020) Janet Smith, University of Illinois at Chicago
(2019) Lisa Bates, Portland State University
(2019 Honorable Mention) Andrea Roberts, Texas A&M University
(2018) Henry Taylor, University at Buffalo
(2018 Honorable Mention) Elizabeth Sweet, Temple University
(2017) Samuel Myers, University of Minnesota
(2016) Nico Calavita, San Diego State University
(2015) Bruce Nissen, Florida International University
(2015 Honorable Mention) Joan Wynne, Florida International University
(2014) Christine Drennon, Trinity University
(2013) Kitty Kelly Epstein, Holy Names University
(2012) John M. Wallace Jr., University of Pittsburgh
(2011) Marla K. Nelson, University of New Orleans
Beverly Wright, Dillard University
William P. Quigley, Loyola University New Orleans