Awards and Recognition

Service learning participants, students and educators alike, are regularly recognized for their positive impact on the community.

Call for Nominations

The Service Learning Academy is currently seeking nominations for the 2017 Outstanding Faculty and Student Service Learning Awards. Applicants interested for applying should view our Call for Nominations page for requirements and deadlines. Please contact Kirsten Case if you have any questions. 

Service Learning Awards

Each year, the Service Learning Academy recognizes one UNO faculty member who exemplifies excellence in the practice of service learning in his or her work, and one or a team of UNO student(s) who has excelled in the understanding/integration of course objectives through the collaboration, planning and implementation of a community service learning course project. Awards carry monetary honorariums, and are presented at the end of the academic semester at the Faculty Honors Convocation and Student Honors Convocation, respectively.

Faculty Service Learning Award

The Faculty Service Learning Award recognizes a UNO faculty member who has experience with a service learning course, who has been supportive of service learning and who has a thorough understanding and appreciation of community agency issues. 

2017 Outstanding Faculty Recipient

Mitzi Ritzman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor
Special Education & Communication Disorders

Past Faculty Award Recipients

Student Service Learning Award

The Service Learning Student Award recognizes a student enrolled in service learning courses who demonstrates an understanding of reflective practice techniques, provides service for a community agency and embraces the philosophy of service learning and community service.

2016 Outstanding Student Recipient

Gabriela Amador                                     
Undergraduate Student                    
Elementary Education and Teaching      

Past Student Award Recipients

 

Faculty Fellows

The UNO Service Learning Academy (SLA) Faculty Fellows program is a critical component in the University's efforts to accomplish its strategic plan and metropolitan mission. The program has been designed to empower service learning faculty to cultivate interest in service learning in their fellow faculty members.

Full-time faculty members from all UNO colleges that have taught 3 semesters of service learning instruction are encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to applicants who have completed Service Learning 101, the Service Learning Seminar and/or other service learning training. For more information please contact the Service Learning Academy. 

2017 Faculty Fellow

Mitzi Ritzman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor
Special Education & Communication Disorders

Dr. Ritzman is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at UNO. Her primary areas of interest are child language development/disorders with an emphasis on autism spectrum disorder, literacy, best practices in service delivery, and working in diverse communities. Each of her undergraduate and graduate courses include service-learning pedagogy. Her community partners include Omaha Public Schools’ Blackburn Alternative Program, the Autism Society of Nebraska, Omaha Public Library’s Charles B. Washington Branch, the Learning Community Center of South Omaha, and metro area high schools. She is the recipient of the 2017 UNO Faculty Service Learning Award.

Dr. Ritzman is the co-director of the Transitions Program, a social learning program for young adults on the autism spectrum.  She earned her B.S. in speech-language pathology and audiology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UN-L) in 1996, her M.S. in communication disorders from UN-L in 1998, and her Ph.D. in Psychological and Cultural Studies from UN-L in 2006.