Sarah Belle Brown Community Service Award

The Sarah Belle Brown Community Service Award recognizes the volunteer service work done by members of the UNM community for the good of the greater community. The faculty and staff recipients each receive cash award of $1,500 and the student recipient receives a $1,500 scholarship, all generously endowed by Doug and Sarah Brown.

Background

Serving New Mexico is central to the University’s mission. Everything we do at UNM – education, research, patient care, as well as public service- advances the interests of New Mexico. To support and promote the University’s commitment to public service, former Regent and Anderson School of Management Dean Doug Brown established this award in honor of his wife, Sarah Belle Brown.

Sarah Belle Brown has devoted considerable time to the community over the past thirty years. Her lifelong interest in helping children and her command of Spanish led her to specialize in teaching English to Spanish-speaking children in the Los Angeles School District. When she and her husband moved to San Francisco, she established a program in that school district focused on assisting newly immigrated Asian children to adapt to a new culture. While developing this program, she also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in foster care and as Board Chair for the Children’s Home Society, California’s largest social services agency. After relocating to New Mexico, Mrs. Brown continued her focus on children’s needs as a trustee of Mount Vernon College and joined the founding board of the charter school, Amy Biehl High School. She is a founding member of the United Way of Central New Mexico’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society, co-founded the UNM President’s Club, and co-sponsored a professorship and several fellowships at the Anderson Schools of Management. In addition to her volunteer work and philanthropic activities, Sarah Belle Brown focuses a great deal of time on her family, a husband of 30 years and two grown sons.

Criteria

This award recognizes one faculty member, one staff member and one student who serve as examples of social responsiveness and who have, over an extended period of time, donated considerable personal time and effort advancing The University of New Mexico’s public service mission. Nominations are expected to be for service beyond the general scope of one’s professional or academic assignment at UNM.

Faculty

Faculty members must be tenured, tenure track, clinical educators, or lecturers.

Staff

Must be employed at least .50 FTE and have passed their probationary status.

Students

Must be current, full-time undergraduate or graduate students admitted into a degree program and enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours each semester.

Awards

The Sarah Belle Brown Community Service Award is given on an annual basis with an accompanying monetary award of $1,500 for each recipient.

Award recipients will be notified and invited to a special recognition ceremony.