CORVALLIS, Ore. — Winners of Oregon State University’s 2024 Engagement Awards were honored during the OSU Engagement Conference on Dec. 6 at the CH2M HILL Alumni Center on the Corvallis campus.
At Oregon State, community engagement is defined as collaboration that generates co-created knowledge and impact benefiting both the university and its partners. Community partners may include social and cultural organizations; nonprofits; business, industry and entrepreneurs; government agencies; individuals; and other higher education institutions across Oregon, the nation and the globe.
The Engagement Awards recognize faculty, staff and community partners whose work reflects the principles of community engagement and engaged scholarship.
Community Engaged Scholarship Team Award
Promoting and Advancing Training of High Desert School Counselors (PATH-SC)
Led by Lucy Purgason, associate professor of counseling, OSU College of Education and OSU-Cascades
The PATH-SC partnership addresses a growing need in Central Oregon by expanding access to qualified, culturally responsive school counselors in rural, high-need schools. The initiative is a collaboration among OSU-Cascades and four regional school districts and is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration grant.
The program provides graduate students with tuition remission, training stipends and mentorship during their internship year. PATH-SC’s innovative Professional Development Schools practicum model places trainees alongside faculty in high-poverty schools, where they gain hands-on experience delivering evidence-based mental health prevention and intervention services while strengthening multicultural and social justice competencies.
The program aims to prepare school counselors who are committed to serving Central Oregon communities after graduation.
In addition to Purgason, team members included:
- Molly Moran, clinical assistant professor of counseling, OSU-Cascades
- Jim Boen, regional director of mental and behavioral health, High Desert Education Service District
- Jennifer Hauth, director of social, emotional and mental well-being, Bend-LaPine Schools
- Tami Nakamura, director of student support, Redmond School District
- Kevin Gehrig, director of student services, Jefferson County School District
- Joel Hoff, assistant superintendent, Crook County School District
OSU–Community Partnership Engagement Award
Whale–Fishery Interaction Research Partnership
Led by Leigh Torres, associate professor, OSU Marine Mammal Institute, and Oregon Sea Grant Extension marine mammals specialist
Responding directly to community-identified needs, Torres led a transdisciplinary research effort to better understand interactions between whales and fishing gear along the Oregon coast. The co-created research informed real-time policy and management decisions, helping protect marine mammals while supporting the sustainability of Oregon’s commercial fisheries and coastal communities.
The project brought together a wide range of collaborators, including OSU researchers, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, commercial fishermen from all major Oregon ports, the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, whale advocates, marine mammal scientists and the U.S. Coast Guard. Inclusive working groups helped identify challenges, address knowledge gaps and elevate awareness of potential solutions.
Team members includes:
- Torres, associate professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences
- Amanda Gladics, associate professor of practice and Oregon Sea Grant Extension specialist
- Solène Derville, post-doctoral researcher, Marine Mammal Institute
- Lindsay Wickman, post-doctoral researcher, Marine Mammal Institute
- Craig Hayslip, faculty research assistant, Marine Mammal Institute
- Scott Baker, professor, Marine Mammal Institute
- Troy Buell, Kelly Corbett, and Brittany Harrington, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Previously titled OSU faculty and partners honored for community engagement and engaged scholarship
