Award for Excellence in Public Service, 2021
Cooperative Extension
I am honored to introduce Shane Bradt as winner of the 2021 Excellence in Public Service Award.
Shane is an Extension State Specialist in Geospatial Technology and Water Quality and an Extension Professor in the Departments of Geography in COLA and Biological Sciences in COLSA.
Outside his normal job responsibilities, on campus Shane is THE go-to person for faculty, students and staff who need help using geospatial technologies.
Outside Durham, Shane is part of several professional and volunteer collaboratives working to educate the public on the effects of human activity on the environment. He also trains and supports K-12 teachers who use GIS in the classroom.
The thing I want to get across tonight is when the pandemic hit, Shane immediately shifted gears and used his expertise to help people in need.
- He built a food access map so people who couldn’t put food on the table could easily find food pantries. Social service organizations throughout New Hampshire directed people who had never needed public assistance to these food outlets.
- When restaurants and institutions shut down, farmers lost their buyers. Shane built a New Hampshire farm products map so consumers could buy food directly from farmers. This prevented thousands of pounds of food from being thrown out.
- When demand from restaurants for seafood dried up, he guided New Hampshire Sea Grant as they developed a local seafood finder map to direct people to local fishermen and women.
- Shane helped other UNH Extension staff to make a map of community gardens across the state where people could grow their own vegetables.
- Last but not least, Shane is building interactive maps that document and promote Extension COVID-19 vaccination efforts throughout the country.
Thank you for joining me in honoring Shane Bradt.
About this Award
This award recognizes and honors exceptional achievements in the area of public service. Individuals who receive this award have engaged in outstanding service activities that are dependent on their academic expertise and that support the mission of the university. The types of activities to be honored should be related to a candidate's academic field and may include exceptional service to local, state or federal governments, to non-profit organizations or agencies, to business or industry, and to the university. UNH benefits-eligible faculty members are eligible, except those who have received this award within the last five years.
