Ralph S. Brown Award for Shared Governance

Background

This award, modeled after the Alexander Meiklejohn Award for Academic Freedom, was established in 1998. It was created in memory of Ralph S. Brown, who served as AAUP president and general counsel, and headed many AAUP committees during his forty-four years of service to the Association. Professor Brown taught law at Yale University.

Eligibility

The award is given to an American college or university administrator or trustee, or to a board of trustees as a group, in recognition of an outstanding contribution to shared governance, preferably during the previous two years.

Guidelines

Nominations are submitted in the form of supporting letters and biographical material. The local AAUP chapter traditionally provides the primary nomination for the award. Candidates should have demonstrated achievement in the realm of shared governance that either goes above and beyond what one would normally expect of an individual or governing board or significantly extends the conception and scope of shared governance.

The criteria to be discussed in the nomination letters are:

  1. Demonstration of the candidate's strong commitment to shared governance;
  2. Ability of the candidate to work with multiple constituencies (with supporting evidence provided);
  3. Capability to bring about effective change;
  4. Capacity to communicate to multiple constituencies about the importance of shared governance.

The Association reserves the award for those occasions when some accomplishment in the area of shared governance is identified as so outstanding as to merit being singled out.

Please contact Mark Criley for more information.

Recipients of the Ralph S. Brown Award for Shared Governance

1999    Santa Clara University Board of Trustees and President Paul Locatelli, S. J.
2002    Luther F. Carter, President, Francis Marion University
2005    Phillip Dudley, Jr., President, Hastings College
2006    R. Barbara Gitenstein, President, The College of New Jersey
2007    Carolyn R. Mahoney, President, Lincoln University of Missouri
2011    Anthony S. Tricoli, President, Georgia Perimeter College
2015    Gustavus Adolphus College Board of Trustees, including President Rebecca M. Bergman