Marian Tripplett receives EUP Community Engagement Award
Marian Tripplett, faculty specialist I in the WMU School of Social Work, has been named the recipient of the 2019 Extended University Programs Community Engagement Award. Marian received the award based on her work as the social work program coordinator at the WMU-Southwest location in Benton Harbor.
The EUP Community Engagement Award is presented annually to WMU instructors who strive to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.
Marian helped guide the Rural Library Engagement Coalition, a multi-year project with Niles District Library, helping to revision the library as a site where social work students could make a difference by directly engaging the community
According to one colleague, "Marian has been a tireless partner and extremely effective advocate in Benton Harbor and surrounding areas for many years. Her efforts to engage with the community are far from new, and in many ways we are just lucky to have the opportunity to leverage her engagement skills on behalf of our shared university."
And according to one of her students, "the collaboration between the Niles District Library and Professor Tripplett will forever be seen as a positive impact to the community of Niles and the starting point of their new grant project, Social Workers in Small and Rural Libraries."
Congratulations to Marian for having a clear impact on her colleagues, students and community.