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Toll Public Interest Center is seeking nominations for the inaugural Alumni Impact Awards

December 17, 2021

TPIC
TPIC
The awards recognize alumni who have demonstrated a passionate commitment to public service throughout their career.

Thanks to a transformational gift from the Robert and Jane Toll Foundation, founded by Robert Toll L’66 and Jane Toll GSE’66, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is pleased to announce the launch of the Toll Public Interest Center Alumni Impact Awards.

The Law School’s approach to legal education has always been anchored in an unwavering commitment to public service. The Toll Public Interest Center (TPIC) is home to a number of the Law School’s public interest programs, including the Toll Public Interest Scholars & Fellows Programs and the Public Interest Experience (PIE).

 

With the inaugural Alumni Impact Awards, TPIC seeks to recognize alumni who have utilized their law degrees to advocate for a more just and equitable society. The winner of the award will receive $10,000, and two runners up will each receive $5,000.

The Alumni Impact Awards are intended to highlight lawyers who have excelled in using innovative thinking and problem solving to produce concrete and sustainable solutions to societal problems. Nominees should be leaders in their fields who embody the tradition of public service that the Law School seeks to develop in all students.

TPIC welcomes nominations of individuals at any stage of their careers, so long as the nominee is graduate of the Law School, has demonstrated a passionate commitment to public service throughout their career, and is employed by a nonprofit organization, government entity, or law firm whose legal practice furthers the public interest and primarily involves the provision of pro bono legal services.

Candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by any person or group that knows the nominee well. The nomination must include a written statement of no more than two pages describing the contributions the nominee has made to positive social change. The statement should be written, signed, and dated by the nominator(s).

Nominations also may include up to three brief letters of endorsement, not to exceed two pages each, and up to three articles written by or about the nominee. The limitation on articles and letters will be observed. If more than three articles or letters of endorsement are submitted, the Selection Committee will determine which will be included in the final nomination packet.

Nominations will be evaluated on the following criteria:

(1) sustained contributions and advocacy for a more just and equitable society;

(2) the impact of those contributions to the community, including satisfying previously unmet needs or extending services to underserved segments of the population;

(3) exceptional creativity and innovation in problem solving; and

(4) the promise for future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments.

Nominations for the awards will be reviewed and three finalists selected by a Selection Committee comprised of faculty, staff, and community partners.

The recipients of the 2022 Alumni Impact Awards will be publicly announced in April at the annual Public Service Recognition event as part of the Law School’s broader celebration of service.

Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. ET on March 4, 2022.

Please email TPIC-ImpactAward@law.upenn.edu with any questions.

TPIC Alumni Impact Awards Confidentiality Statement

All materials shared with the TPIC Alumni Impact Awards as part of our application process will be kept confidential. If there is a need to share data related to individual applicants, the TPIC Alumni Impact Awards will make a direct request for permission.

Learn more about the Law School’s commitment to public service.