9 Individuals and 6 Programs Receive Association’s Highest Honors

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2026 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2026 Association Awards. The UPCEA Association Awards program includes recognition of both individual and institutional achievement across the UPCEA membership.

Since 1953, UPCEA has recognized its members’ outstanding contributions to the Association and the field, as well as their achievements in innovative programming, marketing and promotion, community development and services, research and publications, and many other areas.

Award recipients will be honored at the 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference, April 15-17 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“The achievements reflected in this year’s nominations underscore the depth of leadership, creativity, and commitment across the UPCEA community,” said UPCEA Awards Committee Co-Chairs Amy Gaimaro of Molloy University and Aviva Heyn of the University of Delaware. “As we celebrate the 2026 Association Award recipients, we are honored to recognize individuals and teams whose work is advancing online and professional education, expanding access, and setting a powerful example of innovation and impact for the field.”

The recipients of this year’s awards are as follows:

Julius M. Nolte Award for Extraordinary Leadership is given to an individual in recognition of unusual and extraordinary contributions to the cause of professional continuing education on the regional, national, and/or international level.

Recipient: David R. Cillay, Washington State University Global Campus

 

Phillip E. Frandson Award for Literature recognizes the author and publisher of an outstanding work of continuing higher education literature.

Recipient: Building Collaborative Learning Communities to Drive Student Success, Robin Dhakal, William G. Davis, and Kira Heske, University of Arizona Global Campus

Honorable Mention: The Chief Online Learning Officers’ Guidebook: A Framework for Strategy and Practice in Higher Education, Jocelyn Widmer, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Thomas B. Cavanagh, University of Central Florida

 

Adelle F. Robertson Emerging Professional Continuing Educator Award recognizes the scholarship, leadership and contributions to the profession of a person who has entered the field within the past five to ten years.

Recipient: Dr. Renee Kruep, University of Missouri

 

UPCEA Excellence In Teaching Award is presented to individuals who have provided outstanding teaching, course development, mentoring of students, and service to online and professional continuing education.

Recipient: Stephen Scheib, Wilmington University

 

UPCEA Outstanding Professional, Continuing, And/Or Online Education Student Award: Credit recognizes outstanding student achievement in online and professional continuing education.

Recipient: Maureen Leahey, University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies

 

Outstanding Program: Noncredit Award recognizes outstanding professional and continuing education programs that do not offer credit.

Recipient: ITRS Pathways to Professional Advancement, Florida State University

 

Outstanding Program: Credit Award recognizes outstanding professional and continuing education programs allowing students to earn credit.

Recipient: RRT-BS Degree Advancement Program, Boise State University

 

UPCEA International Program of Excellence or Innovative Practice Award recognizes a program engaged in activities that promote the exchange of knowledge and ideas of global significance.

Recipient: Professional Certificate in Corporate Entrepreneurship, Furman University – Center for Innovative Leadership

 

UPCEA Business & Operations Award for Operational Excellence recognizes outstanding individual contributions in operations, entrepreneurial, and intra-preneurial work that moves an institution into a more favorable position, specifically in financial, human, administrative and IT operations in professional, continuing and online units at postsecondary institutions.

Recipient: Jessie Sova, North Carolina State University 

 

UPCEA Outstanding Service in Postsecondary Instructional Design Award recognizes outstanding service to the field of instructional design in one or more of the following areas: modeling and disseminating research (via workshops, webinars, conferences, papers, etc.), best practices, innovative methods, and/or mentorship, all for the betterment of the instructional design community.

Recipient: Dr. Blair Stamper, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

This award will be presented at the SOLAR 2026, July 29-31, 2026 in Boston, MA. 

 

UPCEA Award for Strategic Innovation in Online Education recognizes an institution of higher education that has set and met innovative goals focused on online education and been strategic in the planning, development, implementation and sustainability in line with the institutional mission.

Recipient: CoPILOT: Cohort Program for Innovation and Leadership in Online Teaching, Purdue University

 

UPCEA Engagement Award recognizes an outstanding mutually-beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources between a UPCEA member institution and one or more external constituents such as local communities, corporations, government organizations, or associations.

Recipients: Community Health Worker Specialized Training Certificate | University of California, Merced Division of Professional and Continuing Education and Merced County Department of Public Health

 

UPCEA Credential Innovation Award recognizes a higher education institution that has successfully implemented an innovative alternative credential program with positive results.

Recipient: iTEACH Microcredential, UNT Health Fort Worth

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About UPCEA

UPCEA is the online and professional education association. Our members continuously reinvent higher education, positively impacting millions of lives. We proudly lead and support them through cutting edge research, professional development, networking and mentorship, conferences and seminars, and stakeholder advocacy. Our collaborative, entrepreneurial community brings together decision makers and influencers in education, industry, research, and policy interested in improving educational access and outcomes. Learn more at upcea.edu.

 

CONTACT:

Molly Nelson, UPCEA Vice President of Communications, [email protected]