Special Merit Award

Nomination Evaluation Criteria

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

1. Service or contributions that advance the purposes and goals of ASHE or research on higher education.

2. The distinctiveness of the service or contributions to ASHE.

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

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.

• For individuals, the nominee's CV; and for organizational nominees, a list of projects, programs, and accomplishments.

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.

Past Recipients

2023: John von Knorring

 
Additional Recipients

• 2022: Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education (CDIHE); University of Maryland, College Park (YouTube Link)

• 2021: Jennifer Hoffman (YouTube Link)

• 2020: The Indigenous Scholars Collective (YouTube Link)

• 2016: Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA

• 2015: Inside Higher Ed

• 2011: Institute for Higher Education Policy

• 2010: The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education

• 2008: The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, University of South Carolina

• 2006: United Negro College Fund

• 2005: Samuel E. Kellams

• 2004: Jerry Davis/Lumina

• 2003: University of Michigan Affirmative Action Defense Team

• 2002: Walter R. Allen

• 2001: Clifford Adelman & Deborah Wilds

• 2000: Michael Olivas

• 1995: Lavina Fielding Anderson

• 1993: Walter Hobbs

• 1992: Jossey-Bass Incorporated Publishers

• 1989: Peggy Heim & Robert Silverman