In the wee hours of the morning on November 17th, we received a text from SJSU Provost Andy Feinstein with two simple words: “we won.” Andy had traveled to Indianapolis along with our Associate Director Katherine Cushing to attend the awards ceremony for the C. Peter Magrath Engagement Scholarship Award, sponsored by the Association of Land-grant and Public Universities.

This summer we received word that we had been selected as regional finalists for the scholarship, which recognizes colleges and universities that have redesigned their learning models to engage the surrounding community. We were thrilled to represent the west coast as one of four regional finalists, alongside amazing programs at Texas Tech, University of Minnesota, and the University of New Hampshire. Executive Director Dayana Salazar and Community Director Imelda Rodriguez traveled to State College, PA in September to present CommUniverCity for the national title, and to show a video we had prepared special for this event.

After months of preparation and waiting we are thrilled to learn that we won the grand national prize, along with a scholarship of $20,000 to help strengthen our programming. San Jose State University is the first west coast institution to receive this honor.Read more about this momentous event on the SJSU Blog.

And finally, we would like to extend a special thanks to Katherine Cushing. We could not have achieved this milestone without her tireless commitment and guidance. Thank you Katherine!