ASHE Distinguished Service Award

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

Each submission 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 2024 award process can be sent to awards@ashe.ws.

Nominations for 2024 are now closed.

Past Recipients

2023: Noah D. Drezner

Additional Recipients

• 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