Celebrate members from your region
The NIRSA Regional Award of Merit recognizes a professional from each NIRSA region who demonstrates exceptional performance or dedication to NIRSA or the field of collegiate recreation.
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NIRSA Regional Award of Merit
Nomination period is CLOSED.
The nomination period happens in the fall of each year.
Nomination Information
Other Information
Honor the exceptional efforts or achievements of one of your NIRSA colleagues by nominating them for a NIRSA Regional Award of Merit.
Awards will be conferred on individuals who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to serving their NIRSA region.
Eligibility
To be eligible for nomination, the individual should meet all the following criteria: It is recommended that the regional representative for each region not be nominated strictly because they occupy that position and the award is to recognize other contributions made to the region or state.
Selection Criteria
Please describe how your nominee contributed to one or more of the following areas during the past year:
Award Recipients
2025
Region I: Stephanie Kloos Smith, MIT Region II: Mila L. Padgett, University of South Carolina Aiken Region III: James S. Koeppe, University of Illinois Springfield Region IV: Kim Scott, Ph.D., Baylor University Region V: Adam J. Walsh, University of Iowa Region VI: Liz Henry, University of California – San Diego Canadian Region: Bjorn Billehaug, Mount Royal University
2024
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
2023
Region I: Jason Incorvati, University of Massachusetts Amherst Region II: David Davenport, Austin Peay University Region III: Jennifer Nottingham, Central Michigan University Region IV: Yvette Kell, PhD, CENTERS, LLC at University of Missouri-St Louis Region V: Adam Burke, Ed.D., University of Minnesota-Duluth Region VI: Trent Morgan, California State University-San Bernardino Canadian Region: Jason Wright, University of Victoria
2022
Region I: Peter J. Murray, University of Massachusetts Lowell Region II: Alison A. Cross, Virginia Tech Region III: Scott Vandermoon, CENTERS, LLC at DePaul University Region IV: Brian Mills, University of Houston-Clear Lake Region V: JT Timmons, University of Iowa Region VI: Brian Smith, UCLA Canadian Region: Gansheng Xu, University of New Brunswick
2021
Region I: Jessica M. Ward, RCRSP, Princeton University Region II: David Peters, RCRSP, Florida State University Region III: Amy Seth, Western Michigan University Region IV: Jacqueline Hamilton, EdD,RCRSP, Retired/Texas A&M Corpus Christi Region V: Aaron Dueker, University of Nebraska Region VI: Stefani Plummer, California Baptist University Canadian Region: Peter Mumford, RCRSP, York University
2020
Region I: Matt Grimm, Stevenson University Region II: Cara Lucia, PhD, Elon University Region III: John Sweeney, Marquette University Region IV: Andrew Lemons, RCRSP, St. Edward’s University Region V: Karina Knutson, RCRSP, University of North Dakota Region VI: Marc Falkenstein, University of the Pacific Canadian Region: Perry Karnofsky, McGill University
Past Recipients
Recipients are featured for five years. Earlier recipients are available through the archive by contacting NIRSA staff.
Entry Fee & Payment Information
Nomination is free