Community Impact Award
The Emory Alumni Association proudly recognizes the extraordinary commitment of alumni who contribute to the good of their communities.
Whether through professional or volunteer service, they make a significant and positive impact on the lives of others and embody the values represented in the university’s vision. Successful candidates for this award may be one or more of the following:
- Advocating for and effecting change within a specific community
- Addressing critical social, economic, health, or environmental needs throughout our society
- Pursuing passion projects that benefit the greater good
- Driving change through significant philanthropy
Bill Taft 85C and Sarah Higinbotham
William “Bill” Taft has made it his mission to extend the benefits of higher education to Georgians who normally wouldn’t have access to college. Taft is the co-founder and academic director of Common Good Atlanta, a statewide nonprofit that connects Georgia’s colleges and professors with prisoners who want to learn.
In 2008, Sara Higinbotham, now an assistant professor of English at Emory’s Oxford College, began teaching a fiction writing course at a men’s prison in north Atlanta. Taft joined her in 2010. The pair developed the program into a statewide nonprofit that now offers accredited college programming inside seven Georgia prisons. Common Good Atlanta collaborates with Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and University of Georgia faculty members.
A guitarist, songwriter, and storyteller, Taft has been invited to travel across the country to give talks about his work. In 2022, he was featured in a documentary about Common Good Atlanta, Breaking Down the Walls of Mass Incarceration, which includes concert footage of his performances as a musician.
In recognition of his work, Taft has received the Governor’s Award in the Arts and Humanities from Georgia Humanities and the Georgia Department of Corrections Volunteer of the Year Award. He is the son of former Ohio state Senator William W. Taft and a distant cousin of U.S. President William Howard Taft.
Nominate the next recipient
Do you know an alum who is contributing to the good of their communities?