Awards

The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to an ASHE Member(s) in recognition of engagement and extension of the mission and vision of the association, enrichment of the experience of members, and, in general, exceptional commitment and significant contribution to the success of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. This award is usually presented to a member who has served the association for at least five years.

The Irvin Lee "Bobby" Wright Dissertation of the Year Award recognizes outstanding doctoral research in the field of higher education. The award honors dissertations that demonstrate originality, methodological rigor, and a significant contribution to higher education research, policy, or practice. 

The Early Career Award will be presented to an ASHE Member(s) in recognition of an emerging, significant, and potential for the future of a body of scholarship. The award will be presented to members who are no more than six years beyond the receipt of the doctoral degree before July 1 of the year in which the award will be presented.

The Graduate Student Award will be presented to an ASHE Graduate Student Member(s) in recognition of an emerging, significant, and potential for future scholarship. The award will be presented to members who are graduate students on July 1 of the year in which the award will be presented.

The Howard R. Bowen Distinguished Career Award will be presented to an ASHE Member(s) in recognition of a professional life devoted in substantial part to the study of higher education and a career that has significantly advanced the field through extraordinary scholarship, leadership, and service. The award will be presented to members who are near or at the time of retirement.

The ASHE Indigenous/Decolonization Scholarship and Engagement Award will be presented to an ASHE member(s) in recognition of scholarship and engagement that significantly contributes to the field of higher education through the lens of Indigenous knowledges, methodologies, and perspectives. This award specifically honors work that centers Indigenous self-determination, sovereignty, and the unique political status of Indigenous Nations, while also acknowledging and addressing the historical and ongoing erasure and harm perpetrated by higher education institutions.

The Leadership Award will be presented to an ASHE Member(s) in recognition of bringing visibility and support to the field of higher education, demonstrating the contributions of the study of higher education to policy formation, and/or in gaining substantial resources for research and training in higher education.

The Mid-Career Award will be presented to an ASHE Member who earned their doctoral degree between seven and twelve years ago) in recognition of a significant body of scholarship. 

The Outstanding Book Award recognizes a book that makes a significant contribution to the study of higher education. The award is open to any book published within the last year that advances theories, knowledge, practices, pedagogies, and/or policies in the field of higher education.

The Public Scholarship Award will be presented to an ASHE Member(s) in recognition of a piece of scholarship presented outside of traditional scholarly venues such as journals and books and that has significantly contributed to the study and scholarship of higher education. The Public Scholarship Award is presented for scholarship within a year of publication. The selected scholarship must have an ASHE member as the primary author. The award recipient will present their scholarship during a special session of the conference or during a virtual event during the year, to be coordinated by the Award Committee, ASHE Staff, and award recipient(s).  

The Research Achievement Award is presented to an ASHE Member(s)  in recognition of outstanding contribution of a body of research that advances scholars’ understanding of higher education in a significant way.

 The Special Merit Award is presented in recognition of a person, group or organization in recognition of distinctive support for the purposes and goals of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. While the coordinating nominator must be a member of ASHE, the recipient(s) do not need to be members of ASHE.

The ASHE Presidential Medal will be presented to an individual of the current president’s choice each year. The recipient can be a mentor, colleague, research collaborator, or someone else in higher education whom the outgoing president deems worthy of public acknowledgment. In the event of a posthumous presentation, a colleague, former student, or family member will be invited to accept the medal on the awardee’s behalf. Only one ASHE Presidential Medal can be presented each year.

The award recipient will present a lecture during a special session of the conference, to be coordinated by the committee chair, ASHE Office, and award recipient. CAHEP welcomes nominations for a lecture and lecturer that focus on community colleges, gender in higher education, graduate education, and/or higher education programs and leadership/administration. 

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The CEP Founders’ Service Award recognizes a member of the ASHE community who demonstrates sustained and long-term service to CEP. Service refers to engagement in any activity that supports the goals and objectives of CEP and fosters inclusiveness within the ASHE community.

The Mildred García Award for Exemplary Scholarship will recognize seminal, exemplary scholarship that focuses on research and issues specifically related to underrepresented populations of color. 

The García Award will be presented to one junior, nontenured scholar-practitioner (e.g., visiting assistant professor, clinical assistant professor, or tenure-track faculty) and one senior practitioner-scholar (i.e., tenured associate or full professor, senior/executive administrator).

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The Awards for Significant Research on International Higher Education will recognize highly significant research outcomes in the field of international higher education.

Unlike a lifetime achievement award, or an award that focuses on a particular form of research, the CIHE Research Awards are focused on state-of-the-art knowledge and scholarship.

Two awards will be offered that recognize and celebrate significant research on international higher education: Books and Edited Books Journal Articles, Chapters, Research Initiatives, or Other Research that significantly changed the existing thinking on a topic in the field.

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The CPPHE Excellence in Public Policy award recognizes excellence in work at the nexus of academic scholarship and policy practice.  In particular, this award focuses on research and/or practice in the policy field that advances the public policy discourse in higher education and/or evidenced-based public policies and equity-focused public policy. Both individuals and organizations are eligible for this award.