Elisabeth Stern, a rising senior in the College of Human Ecology, has been awarded the 2008 Howard R. Swearer Student Humanitarian Award by Campus Compact for "extraordinary commitment to improving [her] local and global communities."

Stern was recognized for co-founding Cover Africa, a student organization dedicated to reducing the global burden of malaria and organizing a service-learning course on malaria interventions in Ghana.

"Students at our member colleges and universities clearly care deeply about issues that affect not only their local communities but also communities around the world," noted Maureen F. Curley, president of Campus Compact. "What's most impressive, though, is that they are creating effective new avenues to address these issues."

Campus Compact gives the Swearer Award annually to five students who have been nominated by their college or university for creating an innovative approach to addressing a social, educational, environmental, health, economic or legal issue within a community. Each award includes a $1,500 prize -- $250 to support a service program or organization the student has worked with and $1,250 for the student's professional development. The award is named in honor of the life and work of Howard R. Swearer, the 15th president of Brown University and one of Campus Compact's founders. Campus Compact is a national coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education.

More information about the award is available at http://www.compact.org/awards/swearer/.