ASHE Distinguished Service Award

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.

Nomination Evaluation Criteria

When reviewing nominations, the awards committee will make decisions based on the following preferred and demonstrated attributes:

• Serving in a council leadership role

• Developing community within the association

• Serving on the board

• Other involvement within the association

• Served the association for at least five years

This award is usually presented to a member who has served the association for at least five years.

Awards Timeline

• Early May: Awards Nominations Open

• June 30, 2025, 12:00pm Mountain/Denver Time: Awards Nominations close

• July-September: Committee review of nominations

• Late September: Notification to nominators of committee decisions

• Mid-October: Association-wide announcement of recipients

• November: Awards Ceremony during ASHE 2025 Annual Conference

Due to the number of submissions and the review process, no late submissions will be accepted; as such, nominators are encouraged to submit their nominations well in advance of this deadline. 

Nomination Requirements

To submit a nomination you will need:

• Name, Title, Position, Institution, Email, and Phone Number of Coordinating Nominator

• Name, Title, Position, Institution, Email, and Phone Number of Nominee

• A nomination statement up to 750 words that demonstrates the nominee's match to the award evaluation criteria. This should not be a nomination or support letter, but a summary of the nominee's qualifications for this specific award.

• 2-3 letters of support. For upload into the nomination form, these should be combined into one document, preferably a pdf.

• The nominee's CV.

Due to the increased number of nominations received in recent years, each nominee will be limited to one nomination. In the event multiple nominations are submitted, the committee chair will notify the coordinating nominators requesting they consolidate their nominations.

The coordinating nominator, as well as the award nominee(s) (and subsequently recipient(s)), must be current members of ASHE.

Questions about the award process can be sent to awards@ashe.ws.

Past Recipients

2024: Kenneth E. Redd

2023: Noah D. Drezner (YouTube Link)

2021: Karen Miksch (YouTube Link)

2020: Michelle M. Espino (YouTube Link)

2019: Jeffrey C. Sun (YouTube Link)

2018: Kim Nehls (YouTube Link)

2017: Kelly Ward & Lisa Wolf-Wendel (YouTube Link)

2015: Marilyn J. Amey

2012: Lester F. Goodchild

2011: Leonard Baird

2010: J. Douglas Toma

2009: Amaury Nora

2007: Estela Mara Bensimon

2006: Laura Rendon

2005: Carol Everly Floyd

2004: Wynetta Lee

2003: Ann E. Austin

2002: Barbara K. Townsend

2001: Robert O. Berdahl

2000: Mildred Garcia

1999: Philip G. Altbach

1998: Joan S. Stark

1996: Stan Carpenter & Patricia Hyer

1995: Daryl Smith

1993: John Smart

1990: L. Jackson Newell

1987: Jonathan Fife