Over the last year, the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships has worked closely with the Office of Community-Engaged Learning (CELO) to facilitate meaningful partnership development as a complement to the Faculty Fellows professional development opportunity, specifically for faculty engaged in community resilience efforts in Vermont.
The Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships supports opportunities for students to participate in community-engaged learning and the subsequent opportunities that arise from partnerships that center both community needs and student experience. In 2026, we are launching a pilot grant program that provides 14 months of support for faculty and community partners to develop, carry out, and report impact on a new or existing community-engaged learning opportunity.
What We Fund
2026-2027 Grantees
Creating a Sustainable Conservation Nursery for the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District
UVM Lead:
Laura Edling, Lecturer in Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources (RSENR)
Community Partner:
Green Mountain Grant Writing Lab
UVM Lead:
Christina Barsky, Associate Professor in Community Development and Applied Economics and Director of Master of Public Administration
Community Partner(s):
Common Good Vermont and Connecting Cultures/New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma
Building Local Data Capacity through Community-Engaged Statistical Collaboration
UVM Lead:
Abigail Crocker, Associate Professor in College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS)
Community Partner:
Working Bridges Program, United Way of Northwest Vermont
Native Plant Diversity as a Nature-Based Solution
UVM Lead:
Laura Hill, Senior Lecturer in Plant Biology
Community Partner(s):
Burlington Wildways, The Intervale Center, and City of Burlington
Rural Data Lab
UVM Lead:
Andrew Van Leuven, Assistant Professor in Community Development and Applied Economics
Community Partner:
Students Crawling for Culverts: Learning and Action for Community, Ecological, and Flood Resiliency
UVM Lead(s):
Peter Brewitt, Senior Lecturer, and Laura Edling, Lecturer in Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources (RSENR)
Community Partner:
Black River Action Team Culvert Crawlers
Eligibility and Requirements
- Faculty, including tenure-track professors and lecturers, teaching courses in undergraduate and graduate departments at the University of Vermont
- Courses must be running during either the Fall 2026 or Spring 2027 semester
- Courses must have or plan to have a Vermont-based community engaged learning component
- Projects must address a Vermont-based rural challenge, and can fall into one or more of the following categories:
- Regenerative agriculture
- Community schools
- Transit and housing solutions
- Remote and co-working practices
- Healthy ecosystems
- Resilient energy systems
- Access to health care in rural areas
- Policy and governance
- Dean and/or Department Chair letter of support required
- Community partner letter of support required
- Funded faculty must administer a survey to their students following the completion of the course
- Funded faculty must participate in two workshops over the course of the year to discuss this funding model for community-engaged learning coursework
Award Amounts
Applicants can request between $1,000 and $10,000. Please note that funds from the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships are subject to a 1% indirect cost rate as mandated by our funder, USDA/NIFA.
Timeline Details
- Application Deadline: May 1, 2026
- Notifications will arrive by May 22, 2026
- Period of Performance: June 1, 2026 - August 31, 2027
Contact us
If you have questions about eligibility, proposal development, or submission, please contact Emma Spett (emma.spett@uvm.edu) at the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships.
