ACPA Awards – Call for Nominations

As a higher education community we are called to be “celebrative,” where there is rejoicing in what we accomplish and where we can be publicly proud of those accomplishments. At our recent 2006 convention in Indianapolis, over 190 individuals were recognized through our awards program for significant achievements within and contributions to the higher education community, the student affairs profession and to ACPA, its commissions, state divisions and standing committees.

It’s time, once again, to celebrate those individuals whose efforts and contributions advance the goals of ACPA and our profession. As we prepare ourselves for the Joint Meeting in April 2007 with our colleagues in NASPA, we will continue honoring members of ACPA through our awards reception and luncheon.

All members of ACPA are eligible to nominate or be nominated for these awards. As a member of ACPA, you are encouraged to review the award categories listed below and consider nominating your colleagues and other members of ACPA whose work and contributions have been significant to your practice and to our profession.

Please note that the various awards have different deadlines and different contact persons, so read the material carefully. For information on the awards, visit the Membership section of myACPA.org

Our members play a pivotal role in this process as we honor the work of those who help to shape our profession and to recognize the generations that have come before and will follow after us. You are invited into that tradition and journey. Let the celebration begin!

Nomination Process

You may nominate yourself or another individual. To nominate someone, send a nomination letter including the nominee’s telephone number, and email address to the coordinator listed for each award. The nomination letter should be accompanied by supporting materials, which include an outline of the person’s, or group’s contributions based on the criteria for the award. Nominees may be contacted for additional information. You are strongly advised to contact the person listed for the award prior to mailing your nomination to get accurate mailing information (USPS or email). The contact person may also be able to help you with any nomination materials that are required. In addition to this general nomination process, the Core Council for Member Services and Interests annually convenes a Nominating Committee, comprised of a broad representation of previous award winners and leaders within the association, which will generate a list of nominations for the first five award categories listed below. The association’s Awards Selection Committee will consider nominations from both the general process and nominating committee.

Awards

Contribution to Higher Education Award
This award recognizes someone who has advanced a higher education agenda through work at the institutional, regional, and/or national level. The recipient would be someone who has worked outside the association to contribute to the higher education landscape and has, in a meaningful way, enhanced the work done on college campuses and/or with college students. The recipient of this award can be (but is not limited to) a college president, another association leader, a higher education scholar/researcher, someone from the corporate world, or a political leader. Deadline: November 1, 2006. Please contact John Mueller at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

Contribution to Knowledge Award
This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the profession’s body of knowledge through publications, films, speeches, instructions, tapes, and other forms of communication. Deadline: November 1, 2006. Please contact John Mueller at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

Esther Lloyd Jones Professional Service Award
This award honors the life and work of one of the earliest pioneers and shapers of our profession, Esther Lloyd-Jones. The award recipient exemplifies the profession’s commitment to service through significant, continued, and unselfish service/leadership activities that have benefited the profession, ACPA and the profession’s practice on the state and national level. Deadline: November 1, 2006. Please contact John Mueller at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

ACPA Excellence in Practice Award
This award is presented to practitioners whose designs and program implementations as well as services for their campus are based on the best national practices in student affairs. The association intends to honor practitioners who have been responsible for achievements that impact a campus for a sustained period of time (five to ten years). Deadline: November 1, 2006. Please contact John Mueller at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Recognizes individuals who have a minimum of two decades or other exhibited long-term involvement and service to the field of student affairs over an extended period of time; recognized level of scholarly productivity; and/or leadership at one or more institutions of higher learning as a Student Affairs staff member, administrator, or faculty member. Deadline: November 1, 2006. Please contact John Mueller at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

Voice of Inclusion Medallion
(Two awards: Individual and Exemplary Programs)
This award recognizes individuals and exemplary campus-based programs in the field of higher education and student affairs that have in some way contributed to making their campus communities a welcoming environment for all. Deadline: November 1, 2006. Please contact Vernon A. Wall at [email protected] for additional information or to submit a nomination.

Individual Award
To qualify for the individual award, an individual must have been employed professionally in the field of student affairs for a minimum of five years and must have provided leadership to several initiatives that support diversity and multiculturalism on their home campus.
Exemplary Program
The following program criteria are used in considering exemplary program recipients: program should respond to an assessed or measured need in the areas of multiculturalism and diversity; achieve an expressed outcome; have a well-developed and creative design; translate to other institutional environments; and include an evaluation process that demonstrates its impact.

Annuit Coeptis
Each year up to three Senior Professionals and up to five Emerging Professionals are accepted. These individuals are honored for their contributions to the fields of administration, teaching, research, and publications. Service to ACPA and leadership are also factors that should be considered. This award celebrates the lives of Philip A. Tripp and Ursula Delworth, who dearly loved to challenge their contemporaries and junior colleagues in a spirit of personal and professional sharing, good humor, and intellectual debates. The Latin phrase, annuit coeptis, reflects Professor Tripp’s optimism for the future by suggesting that “He has smiled upon that which we have begun.” Deadline: December 1, 2006. Please contact Delight Champagne at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

Senior Student Affairs Practitioner Program
Established in 2001, the Senior Student Affairs Practitioner Program Award recognizes senior level professionals who exemplify good practice in student affairs and who have made outstanding contributions to their institutions and the student affairs profession. Individuals selected for this honor become members of the program for a four year term and are involved in many aspects of the Association including working with the Executive Director and Association leaders to provide professional development opportunities, participating in research related to SSAO positions; developing ways for SSAOs to network and collaborate; mentoring younger professionals; and forming liaison relationships with a variety of constituencies within and beyond ACPA. Deadline: November 1, 2006. Please contact Christine Strong at [email protected] for more information regarding the nomination process.

Senior Scholars Program
Implemented in 1984, the ACPA Senior Scholars Program provides scholars with a continuing opportunity to share their scholarship through the presentation of programs of their own choosing at each national convention and to serve the association on projects related to their fields of interest. Nominees are typically senior members of the profession, such as full professors or senior student affairs officers. A maximum of twelve members can hold active membership. To nominate an individual, please submit a letter of nomination describing qualifications and the candidate’s vita. Deadline: November 15, 2006. Please contact Dr. Bill McDonald at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

Emerging Scholars Program
The Emerging Scholars program was implemented by the ACPA Senior Scholars in 1999 to provide promising new scholars with mentorship and support to enhance research skills and pursue research initiatives in areas of interest to ACPA. Emerging Scholars serve a two-year term which begins with the ACPA convention immediately following their selection. In their first year as Emerging Scholars, successful applicants will attend a day-long research institute with the Senior Scholars prior to the beginning of the ACPA convention. For the next 2 years Emerging Scholars may choose to work with one or more Senior Scholars on research projects and, as a culmination of their work, will present their research at the Emerging Scholar Research Symposium held at the annual convention. Letters of nomination should be sent by November 1, 2006 to the Senior Scholars in care of Bill McDonald at [email protected] ; letters should address the nominee’s research experience and potential to benefit from participation in the Emerging Scholars program.

Association-Wide Commission Awards
Commission Awards for Excellence are given in the following areas: Member Service, Strategic Partnerships, Programming, Publications, and Research & Scholarship. In addition, the Overall Distinguished Accomplishment Award is granted to the Commission that demonstrates, through its breadth of achievements, outstanding contributions toward meeting one or more of the strategic planning goals of the Association. Deadline: November 1, 2006. Contact Katie Sermersheim at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

Association-Wide State and International Division Awards
These awards include: Outstanding State & International Division Award; Outstanding State & International Division Leader Award; and Outstanding State & International Division Award for Innovation. Deadline: November 30, 2006. Please contact Ann Groves Lloyd at [email protected] for more information or to submit a nomination.

Outstanding State and International Division
The Outstanding State and International Division Award recognizes outstanding state or international division activities including conferences, publications and professional efforts.
Outstanding State and International Division Leader 
The Outstanding State and International Division Leader Award recognizes a leader from a state or international college personnel association who has made significant contributions to his/her respective association.
Outstanding State and International Division for Innovation
The Outstanding State and International Division Award for Innovation recognizes an innovative program or service sponsored by a state or international division during the past full association year.

If you have any questions about the awards information or this year’s awards program, please contact ACPA Awards Chair T. Todd Masman, at [email protected] or 218.755.3760.