Research Achievement Award

The Research Achievement Award is presented to an ASHE member in recognition of their outstanding contribution of a body of research that advances scholars’ understanding of higher education in a significant way.

Nominations for 2024 will open in May 2024 and close in June 2024. Please check back for more information at that time.



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.

2024 Awards Timeline

  • Nominations will open in early May 2024 and close in late June 2024. 
    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.
  • Nominators and nominees will be informed of decisions in mid-September.
  • An announcement of recipients will be sent to the ASHE membership in late September.
  • The recipient(s) will be recognized during the ASHE Awards Ceremony during the Annual Conference.

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 will open in early May 2024.


Awards Committee

The ASHE Awards Committee is a standing committee of the Board of Directors. Committee members are recommended by the President to the Board of Directors and service 1-3 year terms.

2023 Committee Members:

  • Raquel Rall (Chair), University of California, Riverside
  • Beth Bukoski (Board Rep), Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Emily VanZoest (Grad Rep), North Carolina State University
  • Matthew Witenstein, University of Dayton
  • Julie Park, University of Maryland, College Park
  • Sylvia Martinez, Indiana University
  • Eugene Parker, University of Kansas

Past Recipients

2022: Shaun Harper

Additional Recipients

  • 2020: Mitchell J. Chang (YouTube Link)
  • 2019: Anna Neumann (YouTube Link)
  • 2018: Ann E. Austin (YouTube Link)
  • 2017: Adrianna Kezar (YouTube Link)
  • 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