NIRSA and the entire field of collegiate recreation are made great by the passion, drive, and dedication of some truly amazing individuals and institutions. Each year, NIRSA is proud to recognize some of its extraordinary members with a variety of awards. Recipients of many NIRSA awards are announced ahead of the NIRSA Annual Conference while others are first made public during the Association’s signature event.
The Association would like to congratulate all award recipients for their excellence—especially those individuals listed below who were announced for the first time during the 2024 NIRSA Annual Conference & Campus Rec and Wellness Expo!
Juliette Moore People of Color Distinguished Leadership Award
The Juliette Moore Distinguished Leadership Award recognizes those individuals who best exemplify the hard work and dedication that go into the continuing creation of a diverse and inclusive community. These individuals, through their actions and example, provide members with a standard of excellence to aspire to and achieve. The award was presented during the 2024 Founders People of Color Social, sponsored by PLAE and Life Fitness, on April 18.
Award Recipient
Wendy Windsor, Ed.D., RSS, Tulane University
Regional Award of Merit
The NIRSA Regional Awards of Merit recognize a professional from each NIRSA region who demonstrates exceptional performance or dedication to NIRSA or the field of collegiate recreation. These awards were presented during regional meetups held on April 19.
Region I
Ryan Hagen, Yale University
Region II
Gene E. Sherry, Georgia Southern University
Region III
Nick Froelich, CENTERS @ Cleveland State University
Region IV
Nicole Olmeda, The University of Texas at Austin
Region V
Lauren Brown, Red Rocks Community College
Region VI
Todd Bauch, Portland State University
Canadian Region
Sandra Ondracka, University of Windsor
Sarah Fain Distinguished Service Award
The Sarah Fain Distinguished Service Award celebrates the dedication of a NIRSA Championship Series volunteer who has embodied the spirit of Sarah Fain through their commitment to the NIRSA Championship Series and its tournaments over the course of many years of service.
The award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exceptional performance in leadership and in the development of NIRSA programs, policies, events, special projects, or committees. The award was presented at the NSC Thank You Social on April 17.
Award Recipient
Steve Rey, Western Kentucky
Outstanding Facilities Awards, presented by Mondo
Campus Rec Innovative Programming Awards
Creative Excellence Awards
A huge congratulations to all recipients
Again, congratulations to all this year’s NIRSA award recipients, true leaders in collegiate recreation! The full roster of 2024 award recipients will soon be added to the historical list of recipients on the individual award pages of the NIRSA website.
Rachel Marcella is currently the Membership & Leadership Coordinator at NIRSA.
