About UCEA Awards

The UCEA awards program encourages and recognizes efforts and excellence within the educational leadership community. Award nominations should be submitted to UCEA Headquarters by the deadlines listed below. A UCEA committee appointed by the Executive Director will review and evaluate the nominees. This committee will reserve the right to present this award to multiple candidates on any given year, or conversely, not to present this award should nominees not fully meet the selection criteria.

UCEA Educational Leadership Awards

• UCEA Excellence in Educational Leadership Award recognizes practicing school administrators who have made significant contributions to the improvement of leadership preparation and development. Plenum Representatives, or their designees at each member university, are responsible for fostering candidate nomination.
• UCEA Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation recognizes a university-based education leadership program that demonstrates exemplary educational leadership preparation. The award is inspired by UCEA’s core mission to advance the preparation and practice of educational leaders for the benefit of all children and schools.

UCEA Faculty Awards

• The Jack A. Culbertson Award, is presented annually to an outstanding junior professor of educational administration in recognition of their contributions to the field (i.e. training innovation, scholarly product, program development). Individuals nominated must have been professors for 6 years or fewer, and currently serve in a UCEA university.
• The Master Professor Award recognizes senior professors in the field of educational administration whose professional lives have been characterized by extraordinary commitment, distinguished leadership, superior teaching, and outstanding service to leadership preparation.
• The Jay D. Scribner Mentoring Award honors educational leadership faculty who have made a substantive contribution to the field by mentoring the next generation of students into roles as university research professors, while also recognizing the important role(s) mentors play in supporting and advising junior faculty.
• Edwin M. Bridges Award is given for original, outstanding work in the area of research and/or development that contributes to our knowledge and understanding of how best to prepare and support future generations of educational leaders.
• Linda C. Tillman Social and Racial Justice Award recognizes an educational leadership faculty member (current or retired) who demonstrates outstanding leadership in furthering the values of UCEA to foster diversity, equity, and social justice in PK-20 educational organizations.
• The Roald F. Campbell Award recognizes senior professors in the field of educational administration whose professional lives have been characterized by extraordinary commitment, excellence, leadership, productivity, generosity and service.
• The Hanne Mawhinney Distinguished Service Award is given by UCEA recognizes a UCEA faculty member for their outstanding service to the organization and the field.

Nominations for the Bridges, Campbell, Culbertson, Master Professor, Scribner, and Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation awards are welcome from faculty member(s) of UCEA member institutions and partner institutions. Nominations should include electronic copies of the following:

• Nominee's most recent curriculum vitae
• Three letters of recommendation,
  1. One nomination letter addressing the contributions of the nominee relative to one or more of the award criteria. This letter can include quotes from other faculty and/or graduate students in support of the nominee. 
  2. Two letters of support from individuals who have been directly impacted by the nominee and can speak directly to the nominees strengths and merits relative to one or more of the award criteria.

Nominees must be from UCEA member institutions.

Click on the individual award for more details on the nomination process. For more information, questions and help please contact awards@ucea.org.

UCEA Publications Awards

• The William J. Davis Award recognizes the author(s) of the most outstanding article published in the last volume year of the Educational Administration Quarterly. This award is presented at AERA each spring. 
• The Paula Silver Case Award recognizes the author(s) of the most outstanding case published in the last volume year of the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership.
• JRLE Best Article Award, recognizes the author(s) of the most outstanding article published in the last volume year of the Journal of Research on Leadership Education. 

Nominations for Publication Awards are selected from articles published in the previous year.