Dusty Bacon, an English graduate student with a concentration in writing studies, has earned a Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Public Engagement.

Bacon was one of six faculty and staff members, students, or community members to receive Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement, which recognize those who engage the public to address critical civic and community issues on local, state, national and global levels. These individuals and teams from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who made a visible impact on society were honored at a recent awards ceremony.

Alongside their scholarly and research pursuits, Bacon has spent over four years working with the Solidarity Gardens network in Champaign-Urbana — which connects home and community gardeners to efforts addressing local food insecurity.

Bacon started as a volunteer with Solidarity Gardens in 2020 before serving as the community liaison for the entire network during the 2023 growing season. They pushed the network into new directions in this role, establishing perennial edible crops in one of the affiliate gardens and breaking down barriers to immigrant gardeners with the Free Plot pilot program. By boosting engagement from volunteers, garden leaders and the wider community, Bacon increased the amount of donated produce by 1,000 pounds over the previous growing season.

Editor's note: A version of this article including the full list of recipients was originally published by the Illinois News Bureau.