The Service-Learning Project Award is presented annually to a DCP faculty member in recognition of superior achievement in a community-engaged class project. The award is mean to encourage sustained efforts and the development of new initiatives in the field of service-learning. The 2015 recipient of the award was Ferdinand Lewis, Director of the UF Center for Building Better Communities and Instructor for the fall 2014 Urban Planning Studio. The Award is shared by the project’s client, the Department of Cultural Affairs for the City of Gainesville. The project, “Creative By Nature: A ten-year cultural plan for the communities of Alachua County, Florida” was recognized at the College’s 2015 Research Symposium poster session.
Lewis and the studio were tasked with contributing to the development of Alachua County’s new ten-year cultural plan, being developed by the Department of Cultural Affairs.
Students were involved in every phase of the research and planning process, including extensive community engagement. Lewis and the students were part of a culminating community workshop attended by more than 120 residents and civic leaders, to discuss and prioritize the studio’s recommendations.
