Early Career Award

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.. 

Nomination Evaluation Criteria

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

1. A focused primary research agenda

2. Publication(s) that has the potential to advance the field (measured by quality, not quantity) in rigorous venues

3. Translation of research through conference presentations and practitioner-centered publication(s)

4. Publication of methodology, methodological issue, and/or use of innovative methodology

5. A research record exceptional for their time in the field

This award is reserved for individuals who are no more than six years beyond the receipt of the doctoral degree as of July 1 of the year of the award (e.g., for 2022, a nominee/recipient must have been awarded their doctoral degree after July 1, 2016).

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: Cinthya Salazar, PhD

2023: Antonio Duran (YouTube Link) & Wilson K. Okello  (YouTube Link)

2022: Adrián H. Huerta (YouTube Link)

2021:Cindy Ann Kilgo (YouTube Link)

2020: Jessica C. Harris (YouTube Link)

2019: Z Nicolazzo (YouTube Link)

2018: Eddie R. Cole (YouTube Link)

2017: Julie R. Posselt

2016: Manuel S. Gonzalez Canche

2015: Liliana M. Garces

2014: Julie J. Park

2013: Kimberly A. Griffin

2012: Nicholas A. Bowman

2011: Samuel D. Museus

2010: Lori Patton Davis

2009: Terrell L. Strayhorn

2008: Shaun R. Harper

2007: Paul D. Umbach

2006: Marybeth Gasman

2005: Brian Pusser

2004: anthony lising antonio

2003: Laura W. Perna

2002: Donald E. Heller

2001: M. Christopher Brown II

2000: Linda Hagedorn & Lisa Wolf-Wendel

1999: Linda J. Sax

1998: Jennifer Grant Haworth

1997: Robert Rhoads

1996: Eric Dey

1995: Sylvia Hurtado & Elizabeth Whitt

1993: Alberto Cabrera & Patricia Gumport

1991: Amaury Nora

Previous ASHE Promising Scholar Award Recipients:

1990: Fran Stage
1989: Ann Austin