EDUCAUSE Awards
Recognizing Exceptional Leaders in Our Community
The EDUCAUSE Awards Program, under the guidance of the Recognition Committee, brings peer endorsement and distinction to professional accomplishments in higher education technology.
Awards
Sponsored by Moran Technology Consulting | 2026 EDUCAUSE Mission Partner
The Leadership Award
The Leadership Award is our highest recognition and honors exemplary leaders whose work has had significant positive impact on advancing the theory and practice of information technology in higher education.
The Community Leadership Award
The Community Leadership Award recognizes members for their roles as community leaders and active volunteers in professional service to the broader higher education information technology community.
The Organizational Culture Award
The Organizational Culture Award recognizes members for their contributions to fostering a positive and thriving campus culture, emphasizing the essential role of people in driving technology initiatives and innovation in higher education.
The Rising Star Award
The Rising Star Award recognizes higher education information technology rising leaders whose records reflect ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the profession and increased levels of leadership and responsibility.
2026 Leadership Award
Lance Eaton
Senior Associate Director of AI in Teaching and Learning, Northeastern University
For his nearly two-decade commitment to making learning more accessible across changing technologies, from pioneering hybrid-flexible courses to guiding institutions through the shift to online teaching, and now translating the impact of generative AI into practical guidance for faculty and administrators, while championing open access through Creative Commons-licensed resources, open educational resources initiatives, and extensive service to EDUCAUSE and the broader higher education community.
2026 Community Leadership Award
Gayleen Gray
Associate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, McMaster University
For her sustained mentorship and leadership in strengthening the higher education technology community, including chairing the Canadian University Council of CIOs, helping develop nearly 200 emerging leaders through CUCCIO's leadership programs, serving as EDUCAUSE Institutes faculty and Board member, and building lasting networks of trust, collaboration, and professional growth across the profession.
2026 Organizational Culture Award
Randy Marchany
Chief Information Security Officer, Virginia Tech (retired)
For his fifty-year career building a culture of learning, mentorship, and shared responsibility in cybersecurity, including pioneering a "teaching hospital" model that integrated students into real-world security operations, mentoring generations of security leaders through the Virginia Tech IT Security Lab, teaching one of the nation's first hands-on university cybersecurity courses to more than 3,000 students, and establishing statewide partnerships that strengthened cybersecurity collaboration across higher education in Virginia.
2026 The Rising Star Award
Alex Jacoby
Director of Technology Strategy, Northwestern University's School of Communication
For his rapidly growing leadership bridging technology, pedagogy, and policy, including guiding the selection and adoption of a new learning management system, building an inclusive AI governance task force, launching an admissions chatbot proof-of-concept, and expanding cross-institutional dialogue on AI ethics and policy through his work with EDUCAUSE and AICAD.
