The Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE), co-housed at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and the Yale School of Public Health in partnership with the New Haven community has been selected as one of five recipients of Campus Compact’s 2026 Excellence in Community-Engaged Partnerships Awards. This national award recognizes outstanding programs and initiatives that demonstrate meaningful partnerships with communities to address complex social issues and further equity, justice, and prosperity for all.
CARE will receive the award during Compact26, Campus Compact’s annual national conference, March 16-18, 2026, in Chicago.
Programs recognized exemplify the core principles of effective civic and community engagement—reciprocity, collaboration, transdisciplinarity, and sustainability—and address specific social issues affecting communities, such as public health, violence prevention, economic development, K-12 education, climate change, or houselessness.
Based at SCSU’s College of Health and Human Services, CARE is a community-engaged center dedicated to advancing health equity in New Haven, Conn. It works to improve health among residents most affected by inequities – particularly Black and Brown communities and low-income populations.
“Your partnership is an exemplary model that we are excited to celebrate and share throughout the Campus Compact network this year,” wrote Bobbie Laur, president of Campus Compact. “The people behind these collaborative initiatives exemplify the very best of higher education community and civic engagement.”
CARE carries out its mission through two major initiatives. The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, implements policy, systems, and environmental changes that promote chronic disease prevention and address issues like food insecurity, healthy food access, breastfeeding, and active transportation. The CARE Health Leadership Programs train residents to become leaders and partners in shaping local health initiatives and research. With nearly two decades of trusted collaboration, CARE continues to build sustainable, community-driven solutions that move New Haven closer to health equity for all.
Alycia Santilli, senior director of community initiatives at SCSU’s College of Health and Human Services, said, “It is incredibly meaningful to see CARE’s work recognized at the national level. We have diligently worked to build trusted partnerships within New Haven and beyond, collaborating on initiatives that are driven by community priorities. This recognition is not just about acknowledging CARE; it also acknowledges the community’s long-term commitment to improving the health and wellbeing for all. This award speaks to the power of community collaboration and working toward a shared vision to create change.”
“CARE, as an organization, predates me, dating back to its establishment in 2007 [at the Yale School of Public Health],” said Ayeisha Cole, CARE director. “The primary focus then was a Health Equity Approach to addressing health disparities and challenges that significantly impact minority groups and low-income communities. I am happy that this mission remains the same today, and we are standing firm in this adjusted climate. The CARE team includes our SCSU and Yale staff, but we must highlight the support we receive from New Haven residents, change-makers, leaders, and community consultants. We are collectively being recognized, which is why CARE stands out and we as a community are well-deserving.”
Kathleen O’Connor Duffany, CARE’s research and evaluation director and an associate professor at Yale School of Public Health, said, “For more than a decade, I have had the honor of partnering with New Haven community organizations and residents to address critical public health challenges. This award reflects the power of partnership and the commitment of community. I value the continued leadership and trust of community partners – it is the critical component that ensures the research not only informs, but drives, meaningful change.”
The research and evaluation team has been essential in translating community-identified priorities into fundable, methodologically rigorous research and evaluation; supporting data systems, evaluation, capacity building, and continuous learning that partners can use; and, ensuring community knowledge and lived experience shape its work. Since its inception, CARE has been dedicated to assuring that research results are shared with and back to community and partners as well as academia to move forward local and national evidence-based practice and policy.
“What a powerful recognition this award is of everything CARE does best,” said SCSU Interim President Sandy Bulmer. “Southern has been so proud to be the home of this exceptional health equity-focused center for the past nine years, while CARE has successfully built out its health leadership programs and chronic disease prevention programs through partnerships at the local level. CARE and Southern share a mission of community engagement. I applaud the CARE leadership and staff for the incredibly impactful work they are doing to reduce health disparities in the Greater New Haven area and beyond, and I congratulate them on this national honor.”
Jeannette Ickovics, Samuel and Liselotte Herman Professor at the Yale School of Public Health and founding director of CARE, said, “The Campus Compact Award recognizes CARE’s achievement of their vision to promote thriving communities that foster health for all. This recognition is a testament to nearly two decades of authentic community engagement in research and action. Under the leadership of Alycia Santilli, Ayeisha Cole, and Kathleen O’Connor Duffany, CARE has been steadfast in their dedication to improving health and reducing health disparities in New Haven. CARE has focused on chronic disease prevention through nutrition, physical activity, and improving connections between health care and the community. And they have been agile in their response when new threats or priorities emerge, such as the COVID pandemic and government dismantling of programs addressing health equity, diversity and inclusion. Moreover, CARE is training the next generation of health leaders in Connecticut – assuring sustained and durable impact.”
“For nearly two decades, CARE has exemplified exceptional dedication to advancing the health and well-being of our community,” said Justin Elicker, mayor of New Haven, in a letter supporting the partnership’s nomination for the award. “These partnerships represent the importance of community and academic collaboration — as we strive toward a goal of improving the lives of all residents of New Haven, particularly those who are most impacted by inequalities.”
About Campus Compact
Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities that supports, engages, and challenges higher education to realize its public purpose. Campus Compact empowers colleges and universities to advance their academic and civic missions by partnering with communities to address complex social issues and further equity, justice, and prosperity for all. Founded in 1985, Campus Compact is the nation’s largest and oldest national association solely dedicated to advancing the civic and community engagement mission of higher education. Our members make up a force of thousands of presidents, faculty, researchers, students, and civic and community engagement experts.
Campus Compact envisions colleges and universities as vital agents and architects of a diverse democracy, committed to educating students for responsible citizenship in ways that both deepen their education and improve the quality of community life. We challenge all of higher education to make civic and community engagement an institutional priority. Learn more at compact.org.
