Nominations for the Morgenstern-Clarren Awards for Social Justice and Employee Recognition!

The Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ‘03 Social Justice Award and the Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ’03 Employee Recognition Award were created in memory of Peter Morgenstern-Clarren, who pursued social justice while a student at Wesleyan.  His activism included securing benefits for Wesleyan custodial staff, participating in the United Student and Labor Action Committee, and contributing his leadership to the campus chapter of Amnesty International.  We are grateful to Dr. Hadley Morgenstern-Clarren and The Honorable Pat Morgenstern-Clarren for their generosity in sponsoring this award honoring their son’s activism for the public good.  

Please consider nominating a sophomore/junior or a Wesleyan employee respectively for these awards. You can also nominate yourself and apply!  These awards carries a $2500 prize and the due date for all nominations and corresponding material is April 8, 5pm. If you have any further questions please contact Clifton Watson, Director, Jewett Center for Community Partnerships at cnwatson@wesleyan.edu.

For information on last years winners Akansha Singh ’23, cofounder of Outspoken, a non-profit focused on helping educated Indian women find work, and Olin Custodial Staff Ileana Bones and Maria Porquillo please click here.

 

MORGENSTERN-CLARREN STUDENT SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD

A committee will select one sophomore or junior who best embody the pursuit of social justice. The winner will receive an award of $2,500. Any sophomore or junior may be nominated using this nomination form. The student will then be contacted and invited to use the application form below.

Any sophomore or junior in good standing may use this application form to apply by submitting the following:

• An essay (no more than 1000 words) that describes in detail a social justice effort that sought to make a community more equitable, and your specific contributions to that work. 

• Any statements or materials associated with the work that demonstrate its impact. This might include copies of an event program, a link to an article written about the project, or a written testimony from someone directly involved with the work (excluding family and close friends).

• A letter of support from a faculty or administrator familiar with your dedication to social justice, or from a community leader who is familiar with your specific work submitted here.

All items must be submitted electronically to this application form by 5:00pm ET on Monday, April 8, 2024 including letters of support. 

 

MORGENSTERN-CLARREN EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARD 

The award is to honor and thank the people whose everyday work is central to student life at Wesleyan, including custodians, dining staff, grounds crew, and building maintenance staff. Nominators may submit only one person for consideration; you are welcome to nominate yourself. The winner will receive an award of $2,500. 

The Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ’03 Employee Recognition Award was created in memory of Peter Morgenstern-Clarren, who pursued social justice as a student at Wesleyan.  This award is to honor and thank the people whose everyday work is central to student life at Wesleyan, including custodians, dining staff, grounds crew, and building maintenance staff. Nominators may submit only one person for consideration; you are welcome to nominate yourself. The winner will receive an award of $2,500. 

To nominate a staff member (you may nominate yourself) for this award, please submit a letter or essay that explains how the nominee contributes positively to student life at Wesleyan. If possible, please share specific examples. Please be sure to include the nominee’s name and job on campus. The document you submit should be no longer than 500 words, and may be much shorter.

Submit nominations directly to Clifton Watson at cnwatson@wesleyan.edu  by 5:00pm ET on, Monday April 8, 2024 using the subject line “Employee Award Nomination”.