Last spring, NIRSA made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 NIRSA Annual Conference due to the widening coronavirus pandemic.

This decision forced the postponement of planned celebrations for 2020 NIRSA Honor Award recipient Eric Nickel, Director of University Recreation at James Madison University.

We are excited to announce reimagined plans to celebrate Eric’s receipt of the association’s highest accolade. In light of our much-changed world, we invite the NIRSA community to join in congratulating Eric at the 2020 Virtual Honor Award Celebration!

The celebration—which is open and free to all, regardless of registration status at the NIRSA 2021 Virtual Conference—will take place from 4:00pm-5:00pm Pacific/7:00pm-8:00pm Eastern on February 22, 2021.


Eric joins NIRSA’s most distinguished leaders and it’s only fitting that his delayed celebrations coincide with what is widely regarded as NIRSA’s birthday.

Share a tribute to Eric

In addition, NIRSA members are invited to use Tribute.co platform to create a video montage (or “Tribute”) for Eric. This platform only requires about one minute to film and submit your video. These videos make for an unforgettable gift that shows our collective appreciation. Create your video and share your congratulations, thanks, or fun memories.

  • For more information about the NIRSA Honor Award, contact Vicki Highstreet, Associate Director for Recreation Programming and Staff Development at the University of Nebraska and current chair of the NIRSA Honor Award Committee.
Associate Director for Recreation Programming and Staff Development at University of Nebraska | NIRSA Profile

Vicki Highstreet is currently the Associate Director for Recreation Programming and Staff Development at the University of Nebraska. She is a NIRSA Past President, recipient of the NIRSA Honor Award (2018), and is the current chair of the NIRSA Honor Award Committee. Vicki can be reached at vhighstreet1@unl.edu.