Chapter Awards

Overall Chapter Awards

Overall Chapter Awards recognize exemplary leaders and chapters. These awards are announced during the ACPA Awards Ceremony during the ACPA Convention. The “Big 5 Awards” recognize accomplishments spanning anytime from November 2022 – October 2023.

Nominations (including attachments) are due via email to Jeremy Brown, Assembly Coordinator for Chapters, at [email protected] by 15 November 2023.

Outstanding ACPA Chapter

  1. Introduction – include overall summary of why the chapter deserves this award. (1 page max)
  2. Strategic Priorities (2 Pages Max)
    1. Give detailed reasons (bulleted format works best) for how your ACPA Chapter supports and advances ACPA’s Core Values
    2. Career Development
    3. Professional Development
    4. Leadership in Higher Education
    5. Social Justice
    6. Research and Scholarship
    7. Association Performance & Excellence
  3. Summary of Events – Include a summary of events, activities, and projects along with a brief summary of evaluations regarding your key events or initiatives. (2 page max)
  4. Strengths and Challenges – Highlight the strengths and challenges of your ACPA Chapter this past year.  (2 page max)
  5. Strategic Plan and DEI Plan – Copies of your chapter’s strategic plan & your division’s equity and inclusion plan.
  6. Supplemental Documents – Include any supplemental documents to support the narrative summary of past accomplishments (conference programs, newsletters, journals, drive-in workshop flyers, etc.).
  7. Contact Information – Nominee & nominator contact info (name, job title, college, phone, email, role in division)

Outstanding ACPA Chapter Leader

“Leader” is an open term, which may include Presidents, elects, board members, or general members who have gone above & beyond to advance your division. You may nominate 1 leader per chapter.

  1. Nomination letter (3 Pages Max)
    1. Throughout the timeframe listed above please give detailed reasons for how your chapter leader made significant leadership contributions via elected, appointed, and/or volunteer involvement, including areas of outstanding service & demonstrated commitment with:
  2. Advancing ACPA’s and/or your chapter’s core values, strategic plans, & goals.
  3. Exceeding expectations of their leadership or volunteer positions.
  4. Being particularly proactive or responsive to members’ needs.
  5. Supplemental Documents -Include any supplemental documents to support meeting the criteria (3 Pages Max)
  6. Contact Information – Nominee & nominator contact info (name, job title, college, phone, email, role in division)

Outstanding Innovation Award

The goal of this award is to recognize and honor excellence for an innovative program, service, or project created by an ACPA Chapter. You may nominate 1 program/ service/ project per ACPA Chapter.

  1. Nomination letter (2 Pages Max) Throughout the timeframe listed above, please give detailed reasons for how the origins, development, and advancement of this program/service/project made significant contributions to your division & membership by:
    1. Advancing ACPA’s and/or your chapter’s core values, strategic plans, & goals.
    2. Using innovation & creativity to change a “Past Practice” into a “Best Practice.”
  2. Supplemental Documents – Include any supplemental documents to support meeting the criteria (3 Pages Max)
  3. Contact Information – Nominee & nominator contact info (name, job title, college, phone, email, role in division)

Outstanding Membership Award

The goal of this award is to recognize a practice or successful strategy that advances the recruitment or retention of your chapter’s membership, and/or enhancing services to members to foster significant involvement. You may nominate 1 membership strategy or service per chapter.

  1. Nomination letter (2 Pages Max) Throughout the timeframe listed above, please give detailed reasons for how the origins, development, and advancement of this membership strategy or service made significant contributions to your chapter & membership by:
    1. Advancing ACPA’s and/or your chapter’s core values, strategic plans, & goals.
    2. Creating new ongoing benefits to your division & membership.
  2. Supplemental Documents – Include any supplemental documents to support meeting the criteria (3 Pages Max)
  3. Contact Information – Nominee & nominator contact info (name, job title, college, phone, email, role in division)

Higher Education Thought Leader

Your chapter can recognize one individual or organization that lives or works in your chapter’s boundaries and is considered a thought leader. A “thought leader” is an individual or organization that educators recognize as one of the foremost authorities in selected areas of specialization, resulting in the person or organization being the go-to individual or organization for said expertise.

Ask yourself, who has contributed to higher education through the development of innovative ideas, creation and dissemination of knowledge, and/or is an expert who is (or will be) sought after to solve problems in higher education?

Examples:

  • Indiana may nominate someone like George Kuh for being the foremost thought leader on student engagement.
  • Missouri may nominate The International Center on Supplemental Instruction for their work conducted on advancing learning support.

You may nominate 1 thought leader per chapter. This could include individuals in any category. A graduate student may have developed an innovative way to reduce alcohol use on campus. A doctoral student could have developed a breakthrough theory on student development for their dissertation research.

How your chapter nominates this individual or organization is up to your chapter. We suggest working with your executive board and conference committees to generate ideas.

  1. Nomination letter (2 Pages Max) Please give detailed reasons for how your thought leader made significant contributions to higher education, keeping in mind:
    1. Development of innovative ideas and/or programs.
  2. Supplemental Documents –Include any supplemental documents to support meeting the criteria (3 Pages Max)
  3. Contact Information –Nominee & nominator contact info (name, job title, institution, phone, email, role)
  4. Descriptive Brief – A brief description of the individual or organization’s area of expertise. (Used when introduced at convention.) Example: George Kuh for the Indiana Chapter for his work in student engagement.

Individual Chapter Awards

Individual Chapter Awards recognize exemplary leaders, scholars, programs, institutions, and initiatives who contribute to the goals and mission of their respective chapters. The management of each chapters awards process is coordinated independently by each Chapter, so please refer to the awards directorate member (or similar role) in each Chapter for details on nominations for each award. Please note that awards and award titles and criteria may change from year to year. Again, please refer to each chapter awards coordinator for specific information.

Award recipients in these categories are usually announced in individual chapter business meetings, receptions, and regional conferences. Recipients are typically invited to an ACPA Recipient Reception during the ACPA Convention to celebrate all Chapter, Coalition, Commission, and Community of Practice Award recipients.

For questions, please contact the ACPA Awards Committee Entity Group Awards Coordinator, at [email protected] for more information.

California College Personnel Association

  • Outstanding New Professional Award
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Award
  • Outstanding Use of Technology Award
  • Outstanding Dedication to Equity and Social Justice
  • Outstanding Service to the Association Award

Georgia College Personnel Association

  • Roger B. Winston Outstanding New Professional Award

College Personnel Association of Kentucky

  • The Outstanding New Professional Award
  • The Dr. Fred Rhodes Outstanding Service Award
  • The Dr. Michael Cuyjet Outstanding Graduate Student Award
  • Innovator Award

Maryland College Personnel Association

  • Dedication to the Association Award
  • Dedication to Diversity Award
  • Innovative Program Award
  • Outstanding Emerging Professional Award
  • Outstanding Student Leader Award
  • Outstanding Support Staff Professional Award
  • Dedication to Professional Service (5-9 years) Award
  • Dedication to Professional Service (10+ years) Award

Michigan College Personnel Association

  • Excellence in Leadership Award
  • John Zaugra Outstanding Research/Publication Award
  • Les Carlin Professional Development Award
  • Colleen Lindsay-Bailey Outstanding Service Award

New England College Personnel Association

  • Program of the Year Award
  • Graduate Student of the Year
  • New Professional of the Year Award
  • Pillar of Mentorship Award
  • Access and Inclusion Award
  • Outstanding Service to NECPA Award

North Carolina College Personnel Association

  • President’s Award
  • Outstanding Service in Support of the Profession
  • Program of the Year Award
  • Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year Award
  • Outstanding New Professional Award

South Carolina College Personnel Association

Service Awards

  • Joseph O. Nixon Award for Chief Student Affairs Officer
  • Clarice W. Johnson Outstanding Professional Award
  • Walter T. Cox New Professional Award
  • Carol Eden-Epps Outstanding Graduate Student Award
  • Joseph E. Heyward Humanitarian Award
  • Paul P. Fidler Bridge Builder Award
  • Charles Witten Service Award
  • SCCPA Support Staff Award

Programming Awards

  • Award for Programming at a Public Institution with 7500 or More Students
  • Award for Programming at a Public Institution with Less Than 7500 Students
  • Harry B. Shucker Private Institution Award
  • Art Hartzog Award for Programming at a Two-Year Institution or Technical College

Written Awards

  • Outstanding Professional Paper
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Paper
  • Hilda F. Owens Contribution to Knowledge in the Field

Past award Recipients

Click the link below to view/download the Awards Ceremony Program Book from past ACPA Annual Conventions!

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