Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for nomination, nominees must*:

• Have achieved the rank of Full Professor or Associate Professor for faculty members or a leadership role in a higher education institution or an organization for scholars outside of the academy.

• Have a career in higher education spanning more than 20 years, inclusive of graduate school.

• Be a member of ASHE for a cumulative 10 years, and ideally throughout their time as a higher education scholar.

Nomination Review Criteria

When reviewing nominations, the Fellows Committee will make decisions based on the following preferred and demonstrated attributes*:

1. Integrity. Conducts research and professional engagement in such a way as to maintain the integrity of the work, the people involved in the work, and the field of higher education. This includes meeting the requirements of the ASHE Ethics Policies.

2. Advancement of Knowledge. Consistently advances knowledge through rigorous, original scholarship that significantly informs higher education research, policy, and/or practice. Actively fosters intellectual exchange and collaboration across diverse contexts and communities, including global perspectives. Contributions may include but are not limited to peer-reviewed publications, applied research, public scholarship, policy briefs, creative works, or other forms of scholarly dissemination.

3. Mentoring. Actively and consistently mentors emerging scholars with intention, care, and generosity. Demonstrates a long-term commitment to developing future senior scholars and/or organizational leaders and sustaining the field. Creates inclusive, supportive, and growth-oriented environments.

4. Service. Demonstrates a sustained and meaningful commitment to service within the field of higher education, including contributions through ASHE leadership roles. Provides thoughtful, equity-minded, and collaborative leadership that advances the Association’s mission and strengthens the broader scholarly community. Service is clearly impactful, visible, and aligned with the values of the field.

*There may be cases in which a member meets nearly all of the criteria and would otherwise qualify for recognition; in these cases, the Fellows Committee can make a recommendation for an exception to the criteria to the Executive Committee. Exceptions can be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee. Nominators should note the request for an exception in their nomination materials.

In rare instances, posthumous designation as an ASHE Fellow may be granted. In most instances, this will be for an individual who has passed away in the previous year.

Review Process

Each application will be reviewed by at least three Fellows. The review is not a masked process, however, each nomination and nominee should be kept confidential by reviewers and the committee.  Once reviews are complete, the Fellows Committee will develop a slate of recommendations. The slate of Fellows shall consider the reviewer feedback as well as the representation of the diversity of ASHE membership and the field of higher education.  The committee shall provide the slate and a report on the selection process for review and voting by the Executive Committee.

Fellows Timeline

• Early May: Nominations Open

• June 30, 2026, 8am Pacific Time: Nominations close

• July-September: Review of nominations

• Late September: Notification to nominators of committee decisions

• Mid-October: Association-wide announcement of Fellows

• November: Fellows Induction Ceremony during ASHE 2026 Annual Conference in San Juan

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:

To submit a nomination, you will need:

• Your ASHE website log-in credentials (as nominator).

• The name of your nominee as they have it listed with ASHE to be able to look them up in the nominations system.

• The Nominee's CV to be uploaded as a PDF.

• Agreement that the Nominee is aware of their nomination and commitments required: (Note: We will send a notification to all nominees prior to the review period to ensure they agree to the terms outlined)

  • The nominee is aware of their nomination

  • The nominee will attend the ASHE 2026 Annual Conference in San Juan

  • The nominee agrees that if selected they will serve as a reviewer for future Fellows classes

  • The nominee will maintain continued membership and engagement with ASHE

Note: An automatic e-mail will be sent to the nominee upon nomination submission to collect additional information from them. Specifically, information about any conflicts of interests and agreement to Fellows requirements.

• A 500-word nomination statement/bio about how the Nominee meets the criteria of ASHE Fellows, specifically:

  • Nominee introduction–about 100 words

  • Integrity–about 100 words

  • Advancement of Knowledge –about 100 words

  • Mentoring–about 100 words

  • Service to ASHE–about 100 words

  Please note that this information will be used by the reviewers and Fellows Committee for decision-making as well as read during the Fellows Induction Ceremony if the nominee is selected.

• Up to 3 letters of support that are no more than 750 words each. For upload into the nomination form, these should be combined into one pdf document.

  • The Fellows Committee suggests (but does not require) that one letter would come from a colleague(s)/collaborator(s), one would come from an advisee(s)/mentee(s), and one from a senior leader in the nominee’s institution/organization (e.g., department chair, dean, organization President/CEO/Board Chair/Executive Director)

  • The Coordinating Nominator (except for self-nominations) can also be a signatory or letter writer

• One artifact that illustrates the nominee’s exemplary advancement of knowledge. This can be a peer-reviewed article, book, report, scholarly work, or another item that showcases their contribution. Please upload this document as a PDF; if the item is unable to be uploaded as a PDF, please upload a PDF with instructions on how to access this document.

• Agreement to ASHE Policies including the requirements of membership and ethics policies.

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.

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

Conflicts of Interest

ASHE's Conflict of Interest Policy aims to ensure the integrity of the process. In establishing this policy, the Association sets forth circumstances that require ASHE members to refrain or recuse themselves from participation and circumstances where ASHE members need to consider whether the nature of their relationship creates the actuality or appearance of a conflict. 

To avoid conflicts of interests, current members of the Board of Directors and Fellows Committee are ineligible to be part of the awards process, including nominating colleagues, being nominated, and writing letters of support.

Additionally, current Fellows who participate in a nomination and/or have a required exclusion circumstance per the ASHE Conflict of Interest Policy (e.g., co-worker, co-author, etc.), will be excluded from reviewing that specific nominee's materials.

Fellows Recognition

The Association will annually recognize each Fellow:

• during an Induction Ceremony to be held during the Annual Conference each year. 

• with a medal which they are encouraged to wear as part of their academic regalia. 

• with a lapel pin which they are encouraged to wear during the Annual Conference and other conferences. 

• with a certificate which they are encouraged to display in a prominent location. 

• with a letter of acknowledgement to each Fellow’s Dean, Provost, and President/Chancellor (for faculty members) or appropriate organizational leadership (for scholars outside of the academy).