The submission deadline for this year’s volunteer recognition awards is December 16, 2024.
CAUBO’s Member Recognition Awards celebrate and honour members and volunteers who promote excellence, collaboration, leadership, and information-sharing in the field of higher education administration in Canada. There are five distinct award categories.
All submitted nominations are reviewed by the Nominating Committee, consisting of the members of CAUBO’s Executive Committee and CAUBO’s Executive Director. The Committee submits its recommendations to the CAUBO Board of Directors, who make the final decision as to who will receive an award in a given year.
The awards are presented annually at a ceremony during the Annual Conference. Watch the video recognizing this year’s winners now or browse the list of past award winners.
Read more about the 2024 Recognition Award winners.
General Guidelines
- Nominations should be no longer than 3 pages, with a focus on how the person meets the award criteria
- Letters of support are welcomed
- Should your nomination be selected, CAUBO will reach out to gather additional information such as photos
Furthermore, this year we are moving to a new format for the video that announces the winners of CAUBO’s Recognition Awards during the presentation ceremony at the conference. We will be interviewing the winner’s peers and colleagues to discuss why the winner deserves the award they are receiving. Therefore, along with your nomination, please submit the names of three to five people who would be willing and able to be interviewed on this topic. We would greatly appreciate if you, as the nominator, could also be interviewed about why you chose to nominate your colleague.
The winner will also be asked to sit for an interview to share why winning the award is meaningful to them. These interviews will be conducted in March of 2024 via video link. Clips from the recorded interviews will be combined and edited into an approximately two-minute segment for each winner.
Click on each of the awards below to view the criteria for nominees:
Emerging Leader Award
This award identifies future leaders in higher education – up-and-coming individuals in the areas of finance, administration, facilities management, human resources, risk management, procurement, and/or audit, known for their innovative, meaningful contributions to the improvement of their profession and the efficiency of their institution.
Criteria:
- Nominee must occupy a senior leadership position in finance, administration, facilities management, human resources, risk management, procurement, and/or audit, but has not yet reached the level of Vice-President;
- Has consistently demonstrated outstanding effective leadership capabilities, both within and beyond the scope of responsibilities;
- Successfully led and/or was instrumental in the introduction of best practices in the administrative affairs of the university which can benefit the sector as a whole.
Nomination Process:
Nominations for this award can be made by the nominee’s manager and/or colleagues, but must be signed and endorsed by the institution’s Vice-President, Finance and Administration. Nominations should be submitted using a template that responds to the following:
- Responsibility: What area(s) of operation is the nominee responsible for at his or her institution? Did the scope of leadership responsibilities go beyond this area?
- Leadership: Describe the leadership characteristics that have proven to be instrumental for the nominee’s success.
- Core Changes: What core changes occurred at the institution because of the nominee’s leadership? Has the nominee been able to continue to advance the changes that occurred at the institution? If any institutional changes occurred that were not initially anticipated, how has the nominee been instrumental in managing them?
The Nominating Committee may request other supporting material, which may include but is not limited to charts or audiovisual materials, planning documents, newsletters, board minutes and other articles.
Leadership in Learning Award
This award recognizes outstanding individual contributions to CAUBO professional development activities, including the annual conference, pre-conference seminars, online course, workshops and webinars.
Criteria:
- Frequent and relevant contributions to educational content made available to members; and/or
- Exemplary volunteerism demonstrated through facilitation services that have significantly enhanced program offerings; and/or
- Exceptional leadership that has enabled the successful design, development and implementation of new CAUBO professional development initiatives.
Nomination Process:
Recipients of this award are nominated by the CAUBO national office.
Ken Clements Distinguished Administrator Award
CAUBO’s most prestigious honour recognizes an administrator who has made an extraordinary contribution to the advancement of higher education administration and has demonstrated outstanding leadership in CAUBO and/or regional groups, thereby facilitating the achievement of CAUBO objectives and goals. Any member can nominate a fellow member for this Award.
Criteria:
- visibility and significance of the member’s contribution AND
- significant leadership in CAUBO and/or regional higher education associations and activities
Distinguished Service Award
A Distinguished Service Award is granted to persons who have made a significant contribution to CAUBO and the management of higher education over a long period of time. It is given upon the conclusion of an individual’s career in university administration. The award is usually presented at the individual’s last CAUBO conference in the capacity of official representative of his/her institution. Any member can nominate another member for this Award.
Criteria:
Nominees should generally satisfy the following criteria:
- The person has made a significant contribution to the work of CAUBO.
- The person has been an active participant in Annual Conferences and on Standing Committees or on the Board of Directors of CAUBO.
- The person has demonstrated leadership qualities during a lengthy career as a senior administrator and is well-recognized at the institutional and regional levels.
Honorary Membership
Honorary membership without voting privileges can be granted to former representatives of member institutions who have rendered exceptional service in promoting the purposes for which CAUBO stands. Honorary members are elected by a majority of the regular members upon recommendation of the Board of Directors. Honorary membership is a meaningful recognition bestowed sparingly and only to those individuals among those satisfying the criteria for a Distinguished Service Award who are deemed to have made an extraordinary contribution to CAUBO and the management of higher education.
Criteria:
Nominees are individuals who satisfy the following criteria:
- The person has made a significant contribution to the work of CAUBO.
- The person has been an active participant in Annual Conferences and on Standing Committees or the Board of Directors of CAUBO.
- The person has demonstrated leadership qualities during a lengthy career as a senior administrator and is well recognized at the institutional and regional levels.
- The person’s work has had an impact at the national level and not just a local or regional focus.
Recipients of this award are nominated by the CAUBO national office and by members of CAUBO’s Nominating Committee.
