Administered by the Office of Engagement Initiatives, the award recognizes a faculty member whose innovative approaches to connecting community engagement and scholarly activities inspire students, colleagues and community partners.

Allred received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science from Pennsylvania State University and her doctorate in forest resources from Oregon State University. Her research blends human factors and natural sciences, aiming to understand the social dimensions affecting resource management and conservation.

Allred also serves as associate director of the Cornell Human Dimensions Research Unit, and her engagement scholarship includes nine peer-reviewed publications, 20 presentations and numerous other publication contributions. She is the recipient of nine grants for engaged learning. Since 2016, Allred has been house professor and dean of Alice Cook House.

Allred was nominated for the prize by Patrick Sullivan,chair of the Department of Natural Resources, who called her a “highly productive educator and researcher with a passion for mentoring undergraduate students in community-based research, leading global service-learning and cross-cultural learning experiences, and contributing to the scholarship of engaged learning.”

Her nomination was endorsed by: Cornell colleagues; Professor Narayanan N. Kulathu Ramaiyer, director of the Institute of Social Informatics and Technological Innovations at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS); Robert Murphy, J.D., director of economic development for the city of Binghamton, New York; and her students.

“I was incredibly humbled to receive this award,” Allred said. “Engaged learning was integral to my undergraduate experience, so I strongly believe in its transformative power. I enjoy interacting with students in their education outside the classroom and in the collaborative, interdisciplinary connections these