Dr. Power Receives Meinhofer Award For Faculty Excellence

(Worcester, MA – April 30, 2007) Maureen E. Power, Ph.D., professor of urban studies at Worcester State College (WSC), is the first recipient of the William Meinhofer Award for Faculty Excellence, presented by the Colleges of Worcester Consortium (COWC) at a networking event and awards ceremony on April 23.

The award honors the legacy of the late Dr. William Meinhofer, founding director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning at the College of the Holy Cross. Dr. Meinhofer engaged students and faculty in meaningful opportunities for community service and demonstrated a sustained commitment to social and economic justice through engaged scholarship.

Dr. Power, who joined the WSC faculty in 1975, was instrumental in the establishment of the college’s Intergenerational Urban Institute, which has developed partnerships with almost every major service provider in the region from Bet Shalom to Centros Las Americas and Friendly House.

Dr. Power has also focused her attention on efforts to relive hunger in the community. Her students have been active in service projects with the Worcester Housing Authority and other agencies to increase the participation rate of local citizens in food stamp electronic benefit programs. In 2005, Dr. Power received the Congressional Hunger Center’s “Victory Against Hunger Award,” presented by U.S. Representative Jim McGovern.

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