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On an April morning, more than 100 Vanderbilt students, faculty, staff and community partners gathered around poster displays that told stories of collaboration, creativity and shared purpose.
The inaugural 鈥淏ridging Campus and Community: Community Engagement Symposium,鈥� held April 23, invited attendees to explore 32 presentations showcasing how Vanderbilt and community organizations are working together to address real-world challenges. The poster-style event celebrated partnerships spanning service-learning, research and creative work.
Rooted in partnership and impact
Throughout the event, attendees moved between posters highlighting projects that ranged from early childhood education and public health initiatives to arts-based collaborations and policy research. All projects highlighted community-engaged work, centering shared knowledge and mutual learning.
鈥淭his symposium reflects the best of what can happen when universities and communities listen to and learn from one another,鈥� said Nathan Green, vice chancellor for government and community relations. 鈥淭he projects on display show that engagement is not just an idea, but a practice that leads to measurable impact across our city.鈥�
The symposium introduced three inaugural awards recognizing excellence in community engagement, including honors for undergraduate and graduate students and a community partner award. A committee of reviewers identified the winning projects based on their depth of collaboration and demonstrated outcomes.
Undergraduate Community Service Award
The Marshall C. Eakin Award for Undergraduate Community Service honors students who demonstrate a strong commitment to community-engaged scholarship. Named for longtime faculty member and historian Marshall C. Eakin, the award reflects his legacy of connecting academic work with real-world impact.
Undergraduate awardees Chloe Albucker, Caleb Fields, Sasha Litvak, Aaryan Patel and Isabella Perez were recognized for a semester-long project focused on juvenile justice in Middle Tennessee. Through an independent study, the student team partnered with the Davidson County Juvenile Justice Center, where they met weekly with youth to lead a Shark Tank-style pitch program they designed.
Graduate Community Service Award
The Sharon L. Shields Award for Graduate Community Service recognizes graduate students who show leadership in community engagement. Named for Peabody College leader Sharon Shields, the award reflects her longstanding contributions to service-learning and experiential education.
Graduate student awardees Dana Reno, Ashley Leopard and Andrea Pemberton were recognized for their work on a longstanding partnership between Vanderbilt鈥檚 Peabody College and the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Distinguished Community Partner Award
The Distinguished Community Partner Award recognizes organizations and community leaders who demonstrate exceptional commitment to collaboration and community-engaged work.
was recognized for their work with Vanderbilt teams, working alongside Jessica Perkins, Leah Alexander and Shamar Gunn.
Centered in barbershops and shaped by input from Black barbers, individuals living with HIV and community members across Tennessee, the project developed a culturally relevant multimedia campaign to expand conversations around sexual health. By grounding the work in community insight and lived experience, the initiative supports more effective, locally informed approaches to HIV prevention and awareness, particularly among Black men in the region.
A growing culture of engagement
Hosted by faculty members from the Vanderbilt Community Engagement Collaborative and the Division of Government and Community Relations, the symposium was supported by the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy and the .
Learn more about Vanderbilt鈥檚 community engagement initiatives and future opportunities to get involved on the Community Relations webpage.