BIG RAPIDS - Dr. Cambria DeHoag, an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy, was recently honored by Michigan Campus Compact. She received its Faculty/Staff Community Service-Learning Award, the organization's most prestigious annual award that is the highest honor MCC bestows upon faculty and staff throughout Michigan.
The award recognizes the influence on or engagement of students to be involved in community service or service-learning through modeling, instruction and/or special projects. DeHoag was acknowledged by her peers as a faculty person on campus who has made outstanding contributions in community service-learning. She was nominated by Dr. Stephen Durst, associate dean of the College of Pharmacy.
"Dr. DeHoag has provided valuable direction in the GR-MERC Engaged Partners Project, for both our students and the project," Durst said. "Students under her direction have gained a valuable understanding of the inter-professional health care needs of a local community and the contribution they can make every day in the lives of its citizens."
During the past two years, DeHoag has played a key role in the development and implementation of an innovative, community-based initiative through the College of Pharmacy's affiliation with the Grand Rapids Medical Education and Research Center. She has developed a successful elective course for third-year Doctor of Pharmacy students that links them directly with the urban underserved through the Engaged Partners Program, engendering a significant understanding of the community-based role of health care professionals.
"Dr. DeHoag's efforts in developing student opportunities in community service" learning in the Grand Rapids area are exceptional," College of Pharmacy Dean Ian Mathison said. "Her being recognized with this prestigious award is a deserved acknowledgment of her dedication to involving the college's students, in conjunction with students from MSU and GVSU, in serving the health needs of the citizens of Grand Rapids."
MCC is a non-profit organization that promotes the education and commitment of Michigan college students to become civically engaged citizens through creation and expansion of academic, co-curricular and campus-wide opportunities for community service, service-learning and civic engagement.