UW to Host First Stewart Family Distinguished Lecture, Calls for 2027 Service Award Applications

The University of Wyoming’s School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies (SPPAIS) continues to expand opportunities for students to engage in public service in partnership with its Stewart Family Public Service Initiative, including through the inaugural Stewart Family Distinguished Lecture in Public Service Monday, Sept. 28, and calls for 2027 service award applications.

Jessica Sowa, senior faculty fellow and professor in the Joseph R. Biden Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware, will deliver the inaugural lecture, titled “Volunteerism, the Administrative State and Public Service in the Next Generation: Possibilities and Future Prospects,” at 5:30 p.m. in Room 506 of Coe Library.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will explore the role of volunteerism in government and the future of public service. Michelle Allgood, an assistant professor of public administration in SPPAIS, organized the lecture and will host faculty and student workshops on public service in conjunction with Sowa’s visit to campus.

“The inaugural distinguished lecture emphasizes the priority that SPPAIS places to encourage students to be engaged citizens and to gain skills to advance their public service career goals,” says Jean Garrison, the Clyde E. and Jerrine N. Stewart Family Professor in Public Service. “The partnership SPPAIS has with the Stewart family provides a way to encourage students to become more involved in the civic life of their communities and to celebrate the great work they are already doing.”

Central to this effort are two student awards that fund opportunities for students to engage in public service: the Stewart Family Serviceship Fellowship, which is in its fifth year, and the new Stewart Family Service Stipend Awards.

Proposals are being sought for the Stewart Family Serviceship Fellowship and Stewart Family Service Stipend Awards, which are the top two awards offered through the partnership between SPPAIS and UW’s Service, Leadership and Community Engagement Office.

Through these awards, students are funded to work directly on projects that blend academic learning into meaningful service.

The Serviceship Fellowship provides a $5,000 stipend for an independent service-learning or applied research project of the student’s choice. The Service Stipend Award provides a $1,000 stipend to support students engaged in service or applied community research. The awards are open to students from all fields of study, and projects may involve community research, field work, service initiatives or other forms of applied work, provided they address real-world needs or challenges.

Projects should take place between spring and summer 2027 and be completed by Aug. 31, 2027.

Proposals are intentionally broad, allowing students to work alongside their proposed community to identify and address community-defined needs or challenges at the local, state, national or global level. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, with awardees notified by Friday, Nov. 20.

“Through the generous support of the Stewart family, these awards help to build pathways for our UW students to give back through public service while also providing them with invaluable opportunities for hands-on experiential learning through their engagement with projects addressing real-world community needs,” says Nevin Aiken, an associate professor of political science and international studies in SPPAIS and co-director of UW’s Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program.

About the Stewart Family Public Service Initiative

The Stewart Family Public Service Initiative is funded by the Stewart family in honor of their late parents, Clyde E. and Jerrine N. Stewart, of Sheridan, who served as examples of people immersed in family, community and public service. The couple helped address community needs, real-world challenges and believed in the value of doing what they could to help others. This initiative is made possible by the Stewart family’s longstanding support for public service and civic engagement at UW. The Stewart Family Public Service Initiative provides students with opportunities not only to learn about public service, but also to apply it to real-world issues. 

More information about the Stewart Family Public Service Initiative, the service awards and their application processes, and upcoming opportunities is available through SPPAIS and the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program at www.uwyo.edu/wallop.