Joseph Laquatra, the Hazel E. Reed Human Ecology Extension Professor in Family Policy, has been named the first recipient of the Outstanding Engagement Award from the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) Board of Human Sciences.

The purpose of the award is to recognize a faculty member "for exceptional creativity and scholarship in the development, application and evaluation of outreach, extension and public service programs."

"This was a very tough decision to make given the quality of the nominees presented to our awards committee from all over the nation," the awards committee wrote in a letter to Lisa Staiano-Coico, the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean of the College of Human Ecology.

Laquatra will receive the award at the NASULGC Board of Human Sciences meeting in Houston, Nov. 12-14.

Laqutra's outreach and research focus on sustainable aspects of housing with emphases on residential energy efficiency, indoor air quality, construction site waste management and residential sprawl. As an extension housing specialist, Laquatra develops and implements educational programs throughout Cornell Cooperative Extension's statewide network with state and national partners. All of his extension/outreach programs are based on his research at Cornell.

Laquatra is the primary author of two textbooks for the National Association of Home Builders Certified Graduate Builder program -- on indoor air quality and on energy efficient construction. He has conducted educational programs for homebuilders and also taught builders, engineers, architects and government officials about these topics in Poland, Russia and Japan.

The mission of the Board on Human Sciences is to strengthen human sciences research, outreach and teaching in institutions of higher education.