Honoring 2024 AAUP Awards Recipients

The AAUP is pleased to announce this year’s awards recipients ahead of their official recognition at the 2024 AAUP Conference and Biennial Meeting. Awards are made to recognize outstanding administrators, trustees, leaders, and chapters who embody the AAUP’s key values of upholding academic freedom and shared governance. This year, three awards will be granted to four deserving individuals: the Outstanding Achievement Award, the Georgina M. Smith Award, and the Marilyn Sternberg Award.

The Outstanding Achievement Award will be presented to Kent Ervin of the University of Nevada, Reno. The Outstanding Achievement Award was established in 2016 and is granted to an AAUP member for outstanding chapter- or conference-level work that advances academic freedom or shared governance, promotes the economic security of academics, helps the higher education community organize, or ensures higher education’s contribution to the common good. The selection committee noted Professor Ervin’s work to expose budget mismanagement at UNR and his long career as a lobbyist and advocacy chapter leader as key factors for his selection as this year’s Outstanding Achievement Award recipient.

The Georgina M. Smith Award will be presented to Dr. Deni Galileo, president of the University of Delaware AAUP chapter and co-chief contract negotiator for the University of Delaware bargaining team. The award was established in 1979 to honor AAUP leader Georgina M. Smith and recognizes a person who has provided exceptional leadership in improving the status of academic women or academic collective bargaining. As lead negotiator of his bargaining unit, Dr. Galileo guided his steering committee to a fourteen percent raise over their contract and was praised by the selection committee for his “tireless leadership, terrific diplomatic skills, and unwavering support for the shared governance” of UD-AAUP.

The Marilyn Sternberg Award will be presented to two recipients: Dr. Kenneth Davis, president of the Edward Waters University AAUP chapter, and Stephen Mockabee, president of the University of Cincinnati AAUP chapter. Established in 1981, the Sternberg award is given to the AAUP member who best demonstrates concern for human rights, courage, persistence, political foresight, imagination, and collective bargaining skills. The selection committee praised Dr. Davis for his leading role in EWU AAUP’s fight to maintain collective bargaining status amidst an ongoing struggle with a union-busting administration and anti-union legislation across the state of Florida. Stephen Mockabee was recognized for his key role in the fight against anti-DEI and anti-union bills SB 83 and HB 151 in Ohio and his work at the bargaining table for AAUP-UC.

All awards recipients will be honored at the Awards and Recognition Luncheon as part of the 2024 Conference and Biennial Meeting. We are grateful for all recipients’ hard work and enthusiasm for their efforts in safeguarding collective bargaining, academic freedom, and shared governance in higher education.