DIP-IN at heart of Fairbanks School of Public Health national award

In 2025, the Fairbanks School of Public Health (FSPH) was named as one of two finalists for the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health’s (ASPPH) Outstanding Community Service Award. As part of the process, site visitors came to the campus to learn more about FSPH’s community-engaged work, with DIP-IN serving as a focal point.

Community partners joined the visit to showcase the initiative’s impact through presentations, visual displays, and panel discussions. Although FSPH did not receive the 2025 award, site visitors were impressed and encouraged the school to apply again.

In early 2026, FSPH once again earned a spot as an award finalist, welcoming site visitors to campus in February. As before, DIP-IN was one of the school’s standout programs, but this year we flipped the script. Instead of bringing the story to them, we took visitors into the heart of DIP-IN communities to see the work in action.

With limited time we visited two partner sites: Hawthorne Community Center in the Near West and Aspire House in the Near Northwest.

Visitors spoke very highly of the community visits, and the momentum carried into the following day with a joint FSPH/ASPPH panel featuring DIP-IN partner Carlena Moses, Near West Community Builder.

Thanks in large part to the community visits, we are proud to share that the Fairbanks School of Public Health has been awarded the 2026 ASPPH Outstanding Community Service Award. This honor includes a $5,000 prize, which will be shared among partners from each of the three DIP-IN communities.

We are incredibly grateful to all our DIP-IN partners, including those who participated in the 2026 site visit: Jama Bennett, Sharon Clark, Tedd Hardy, Carlena Moses, Caleb Sutton, and Maunah Wadud.

We are honored to work alongside such dedicated partners, whose commitment to the community continues to inspire us every day. This award is a meaningful recognition of the power and impact of this truly special initiative.