8 Individuals and 7 Programs Receive Association’s Highest Honors

WASHINGTON, November 4, 2024 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2025 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 2025 UPCEA Annual Conference, March 24-26 in Denver, Colorado.

“The achievements showcased in this year’s nominations highlight the boundless commitment of UPCEA members to innovation and impact within higher education,” said UPCEA Awards Committee Co-Chairs Catie Weaver of Western Kentucky University and Patty Milner of University of Arkansas. “As we recognize the 2025 Association Award recipients, we commend their transformative contributions to online and professional education, which continue to set new standards and inspire a diverse community of learners and leaders.”

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: Debbie Cavalier, Berklee College of Music

 

Ray Schroeder Leadership Award for the Advancement of Digital Learning is given to an individual in recognition of lifetime achievements and professionalism in advancing the cause of online and digital learning in postsecondary education. 

Recipient: Marie Cini, University of the People

This award will be presented at the SOLAR 2025, July 22-24, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. 

 

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

The 2025 Frandson Award recipient will be selected in December 2024.

UPCEA Leadership in Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Award recognizes an individual or a program that represents best practices and demonstrates positive impact in promoting cultural shift in the organization that promotes diversity and inclusive excellence.

Recipient: Stephanie McGrew, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences

 

Dorothy Durkin Award for Strategic Innovation in Marketing and/or Enrollment Management recognizes an individual for achievement in strategic planning, marketing innovation or enrollment management success.

Recipient: Asaf Wolff, University of the People

 

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: Dr. Nikki Ashcraft, University of Missouri

 

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

Recipient: Esteban Contreras, Oregon State University

 

UPCEA Research and Scholarship Award recognizes significant new research with implications for professional practice in the field of online and professional continuing higher education.

Recipient: Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U), Jeonghyun Lee, Meryem Yilmaz Soylu, and Stephen W. Harmon, Georgia Institute of Technology

 

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

Recipient: Higher Education Coaching Academy 40-hour Coach Practitioner Course, University of Central Florida

 

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: International Nursing Pathway, Alamo Colleges District, Universidad Tecmilenio, and Methodist Healthcare System

 

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: Lyla Garner, Mississippi 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: Naomi Pariseault, Brown University

This award will be presented at the SOLAR 2025, July 22-24, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. 

 

UPCEA Award for Excellence in Advancing Student Success recognizes an individual or program for advancing the success of students in both credit and non-credit programs.

Recipient: Virtual Career Development Center, The University of Oklahoma

 

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: IU Online Programs of Scale, Indiana 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: University Credit Program, California State University, Chico and the California Teachers Association

 

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

Recipient: San Antonio College Marketable Skills Program, San Antonio College, Alamo Colleges District

 

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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]