Research Achievement Award

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.


Nomination Evaluation Criteria

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

  1. A body of scholarly work that changed the study of higher education in an important way;

  2. Use of the body of scholarship by others in the field;

  3. Use of sound and/or innovative methodology;

  4. Research accounts for systemic power and privilege.


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

The ASHE awards process serves as a meaningful way for our community to recognize its own. As a benefit of your ASHE membership, you are invited to uplift your colleagues and celebrate the shared spirit that defines our community. To ensure this remains a peer-driven celebration of our association, both nominators and individual nominees must be current ASHE members.

To submit a nomination, you will need:

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

  • The name of your nominee(s) 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 (for individual nominations)

  • 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 as a PDF.

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.

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, respective Council Executive Committees, and/or respective awards committees are ineligible to be part of the awards process, including nominating colleagues, being nominated, and writing letters of support.


Recipients

2025 Linda J. Sax
2024  Laura W. Perna
2022  Shaun Harper
2020  Mitchell J. Chang
2019  Anna Neumann
2018  Ann E. Austin
2017  Adrianna Kezar
2016  John M. Braxton
2015  Michael B. Paulsen
2014  Simon Marginson
2013  Estela Mara Bensimon
2012  Amaury Nora
2011  John R. Thelin
2010  Edward P. St. John
2009  Jerome Karabel
2008  John H. Schuh
2007  Marcia Baxter-Magolda
2006  Frances Stage
2005  Arthur M. Cohen
2004  Judith Glazer-Raymo
2003  Michael T. Nettles
2002  David W. Leslie
2001  John C. Smart
2000  George Kuh
1999  Vincent Tinto
1998  Sheila Slaughter
1997  William Tierney
1996  Kenneth A. Feldman
1995  Larry L. Leslie
1994  Michael A. Olivas
1993  Yvonna S. Lincoln
1992  Joan Stark
1991  Ernest Pascarella & Patrick Terenzini
1990  Robert Birnbaum
1989  Jack Schuster
1988  Robert Blackburn & Howard Bowen
1987  Alexander W. Astin
1985  Burton Clark

Awards Committee

  • Brian L. McGowan
    Provost Associate Professor of Education American University
    Chair
  • Jason P. Guilbeau
    Jason P. Guilbeau
    PhD, CAE Executive Director Association for the Study of Higher Education
    Staff Partner
  • Lisa Delacruz Combs
    Assistant Professor University of North Texas
    Member
  • Jeff Grim
    Assistant Professor George Mason University
    Member
  • Jarett D. Haley
    Jarett D. Haley
    Assistant Professor University of Delaware
    Member
  • JoHyun(Jo) Kim
    Associate Professor Texas A&M University
    Member
  • Brittany Smotherson
    Brittany Smotherson
    Adjunct Instructor University of Missouri
    Member
  • Tatiana Suspitsyna
    Tatiana Suspitsyna
    Associate Professor The Ohio State University
    Member
  • Jared King
    Doctoral Student North Carolina State University
    Graduate Student Member
  • William B. Walker Jr.
    William B. Walker Jr.
    PhD Student University of Georgia
    Graduate Student Member