Rising Star Award

About the Award

The Rising Star Award is intended to recognize an emerging leader in higher education IT whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the profession and increased levels of leadership, responsibility, and sphere of impact. While eligible nominees have not yet reached a senior- or chief-level position, their track-record reflects a strong career trajectory with the possibility of forward advancement and potential for appointment at the highest levels of the profession.

Awards will be made at the discretion of the Recognition Committee which may choose to grant one award, no award, or multiple awards in any one year. In general, EDUCAUSE awards are not intended to be given posthumously.

Nomination Requirements

Nominations for the Rising Star Award must be submitted with the candidate's permission. Self-nominations are not accepted. It is the responsibility of the nominator to summarize the nominee's achievements and growth in professional stature and accomplishments in sufficient detail to document why this individual should be considered as a "rising star" in the profession. 

Nominations must contain sufficient information to inform the selection process without additional research. Complete nominations must include the nominee's curriculum vitae or resume. While a CV or resume provides the committee with a more comprehensive overview of the nominee's accomplishments and experiences, it is not a substitute for any of the required information listed below. After reviewing the initial nomination submissions, the committee may request reference letters to assist in the evaluation of the nominees under consideration. If requested, one of the reference letters must be from a CIO, CTO, or equivalent institution executive.

Candidates must be an early- to mid-stage career information technology professional working in higher education. In general, "early- to mid-stage" typically equates to being anywhere from 5 to 15 years in the profession. There are cases where the nominee may fall outside these parameters and ask that the nominator use their best judgment.  

Nominees must not have attained the rank of Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), or an equivalent chief-level position, or other terminal/executive position such as Vice President or Provost at an institution.

Each nominee will be judged against the following required criteria:

• Role played by the nominee and the resulting positive outcomes in projects, publications, activities, or initiatives that, in total, demonstrate exceptional early and ongoing achievement

• Evidence that the contributions of the nominee are having a sustained and positive impact on their institution and/or the profession as a whole

• Evidence that the nominee's portfolio of work and resulting successes point to increasing levels of responsibility, both internal and external to the institution

In addition, the committee will look for evidence that supports:

• Significant innovation, given the campus context

• Uniqueness and impact of the candidate's contributions

Guidelines and Eligibility

• Candidates must be an early- to mid-stage career information technology professional working in higher education. “Early- to mid-stage” could be anywhere from 5 to 15 years in the profession, though there may be exceptions to this general rule; for instance, a candidate may have come to higher education after being in a different profession.

• Candidates must not have attained the rank of Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or an equivalent chief-level position, or other terminal/executive position such as Vice-President or Provost at an institution.

• Candidates must have demonstrated exceptional and ongoing achievements and have made significant and demonstrable contributions to their institution(s) and to the profession.

• Candidates may not be currently serving on the EDUCAUSE Board, staff, or Recognition Committee.

• An EDUCAUSE award is intended to be a rare recognition. No individual awards (vs. team awards) will be given more than once to the same individual. Preference for awards in general is given to those who have not recently received an EDUCAUSE award.

• If an individual selected to receive an award will not be employed at an EDUCAUSE member institution at the time of the annual conference, the committee will re-evaluate and has the option to select another candidate.

Recognition

Award recipients are recognized at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference and receive complimentary registration, travel, and housing for the conference. Recipients are also given a session at the annual conference and a $3,000 honorarium toward another EDUCAUSE event or the option of donating the amount to the EDUCAUSE scholarship fund. Highlights of their accomplishments are added to the award gallery on the EDUCAUSE website.

Recipients will also earn an EDUCAUSE microcredential as a way to digitally document and display their achievement.

Recipients

See previous Rising Star Award recipients.