The Society for The Teaching of Psychology (Division Two of APA) is pleased to announce the STP Civic Engagement Award. Consistent with our Mission Statement and the Statement on Addressing Systemic Racism and Inequity in STP (located in the STP Policies and Procedures Manual), we encourage applications from colleagues who are from underrepresented groups and have diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Consistent with APA's Citizen Psychologist initiative, this Excellence in Service award recognizes leadership and engagement in applying psychological science to make a difference in communities at the local, national, or global level. This could be done directly through community involvement or indirectly by incorporating civic-engagement pedagogies (e.g., service-learning) into teaching. 

2026 Award

Past Recipients

2025: No award given

2024: Gabrielle P. A. Smith, Texas Woman's University
2023: Michael Figuccio, Farmingdale State College - SUNY
2022: Karen Z. Naufel, Georgia Southern University
2021: Justina Oliveira, Southern New Hampshire University
2020: Bethany Fleck Dillen, Metropolitan State University

Call for Applications

Applications will be reviewed by STP’s Civic Engagement Award Committee. The awardee will receive a monetary award of either $1500 or up to $1500 in travel reimbursement for attending STP's Annual Conference on Teaching during the award year and a plaque.

The award is open only to STP members. STP reserves the right not to make an award if the STP Excellence in Service Awards Committee believes no applicant is qualified in a particular year.

Self-nominations are both permitted and strongly encouraged. Historically, award dossiers are most competitive when prepared by applicants themselves, rather than by a third party. In addition, dossiers submitted or otherwise endorsed by a nominator are treated no differently than self-nominations in the review process.

If you would like to nominate someone (i.e., encourage them to submit their own application) for an Excellence in Service Award, you can fill out this Google form and they will receive a message with additional details from STP’s Chair of Teaching Awards. If you would like to further support a nominee’s application for an Excellence in Teaching Award, you can write a letter of recommendation that they can include in their dossier.  

The deadline for applications is February 1 of the award year. Applicants will receive notification of award decisions no later than March 1st of the award year. The award recipient will be invited to receive the award during STP’s Annual Conference on Teaching of the award year (typically held in October).

Please review the policies regarding STP awards and grant programs.

Required documents for applications:

• A cover letter describing the applicant's contributions and impacts to psychological teaching, advocacy, research, and/or practice which directly benefits the local, national, or global community via civic engagement.
• A current C.V.
• Two letters of support, including one from a community partner, that exemplify the applicant's contributions to civic engagement.

All materials must elaborate on perspectives and values added through their civic engagement, and letters of support need to complement the applicant’s contribution. 

Examples of Significant Contributions.

Please note that this is a list of examples, and it is not intended to be exhaustive.

• Applicants should be able to show their impact on students and/or their community, reflecting a significant commitment to the needs of the local, national and/or global community and/or a long-term commitment to incorporating civic engagement pedagogies (e.g., service learning) into coursework or curriculum.
  
• Applicants should have experience working in their community and should have engaged in civic learning in the field through coursework or a degree program both in and out of the classroom.
  
• Applicants should have experience with meaningful community partnerships and knowledge-sharing. They should have documented records on the partnership’s impact and be able to share how new information from the partnership can be used for teaching and or scholarship.

Apply for the Civic Engagement Award (requires login)

Contact

For more information, please contact the chair of the Excellence in Service Awards Committee Chelsea Robertson at service-awards@teachpsych.org.