The Tower Awards are presented annually to honor excellence in volunteerism among the students, faculty, and staff of The University of Texas at Austin. Since 1992, awards have been presented at an on-campus ceremony to honor the dedication of Longhorn community. Today the ceremony recognizes students, faculty, and staff of the university, as well as community agencies and university-community partnership efforts.
The UT Tower Awards, hosted by the Office of the President and the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, honor organizations and individuals for their service to the greater Austin area. These awards aim to highlight excellence in community leadership and commitment to community-university partnerships.
Previously, the Community Leadership Awards honored external community partners, while the Tower Awards primarily honored campus community members. By hosting one joint community awards ceremony for the university, we build stronger community-university relationships while also elevating the significance of this recognition for our honorees.
2023 Honorees
Outstanding Community Engagement Award
Asian Texans for Justice
Austin Child Guidance Center
VELA
Outstanding Faculty/Staff Volunteer Award
Meera Rajagopalan
Director of Clinical & Career Services, School of Nursing
Outstanding Service-Learning Instructor Award
Michele Hockett Cooper
Assistant Professor of Instruction, College of Natural Sciences
Stacey Sowards
Professor, Moody College of Communication
Outstanding Student Organization Award
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers at Texas
Texas Cowboys Outstanding Student Volunteer Award
Maria Ghaly
Senior, College of Natural Sciences
Ashray Saxena
Graduate Student, Cockrell School of Engineering
William C. Powers Jr. Lifetime Service Award
Emilio Zamora
Professor, College of Liberal Arts
