Congratulations to This Year’s Higher Education HR Award Recipients!

Transforming everything from workplace culture to performance management, higher ed HR professionals across the country are finding innovative ways every day to accomplish their institutional missions and priorities. CUPA-HR’s Higher Education HR Awards program recognizes some of the best and brightest in higher ed HR and honors HR professionals who have given their time and talents to the association. Here are our 2022 honorees.

Donald E. Dickason Award

This award, named for the association’s founder, is CUPA-HR’s highest honor and recognizes an individual for exceptional leadership and service to CUPA-HR.

Marie Williams

Marie Williams, vice president for human resources at Brown University and a long-time member of CUPA-HR, began her leadership trajectory in 2013 as a participant in the Emerging CUPA-HR Leaders Program. Soon after, she became a member of the CUPA-HR board of directors, where she served for six years. As chair of the board in 2019-20, she helped lead the association and the profession through the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While on the board, Williams also served on several CUPA-HR committees, including the Public Policy Committee, Executive Committee, National Awards Committee, Budget and Finance Committee, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Thanks to the generous support of award sponsor TIAA, CUPA-HR has made an $8,000 contribution to Brown University.

Distinguished Service Award

This award recognizes an individual for distinguished leadership and service to CUPA-HR. In 2022, two of our past leaders received the award.

Barbara Abercrombie

Barbara Abercrombie, most recently the vice president of human resources and chief HR officer at the University of Tulsa, has served in CUPA-HR leadership roles since 2008, including as president of the association’s Oklahoma Chapter and as a member of the national board. She also served on CUPA-HR’s Public Policy Committee and on CUPA-HR’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Steering Committee, and as a facilitator for CUPA-HR’s 21-Day Equity Habit Building Challenge.

Thanks to the generous support of award sponsor UKG, CUPA-HR has made a $4,000 contribution to the University of Tulsa.

Larry Robertson

Larry Robertson served in many CUPA-HR leadership roles during his 21 years in higher education HR, including president of the CUPA-HR Oklahoma Chapter, chair of the Southern Region board, and member of the national board, where he also served on the Learning and Professional Development, National Awards, Public Policy, and Research Advisory committees. For several years, he was also a CUPA-HR Annual Conference Ambassador, where he shared his wealth of knowledge with conference newcomers.

Thanks to the generous support of award sponsor UKG, CUPA-HR has made a $4,000 contribution to Collin County Community College.

Chief Executive HR Champion Award

Recognizing that what makes an institution great are its people, this award honors the president or chancellor of a higher ed institution or system who has demonstrated significant support for the institution’s HR work

Rebecca Bergman, President of Gustavus Adolphus College.

In 2014, Rebecca Bergman became the first female president of Gustavus Adolphus College. Since then, she has worked closely with the college’s HR department to align its structure and priorities with a new vision for the college. Under President Bergman’s leadership, HR had an opportunity to reset, giving more attention to employee relations; launching a leadership program to prepare future college leaders for senior leadership positions; and continuing to improve in all areas of engagement.

Most recently, President Bergman has overseen the launch of several training and development programs dedicated to the support of diversity, equity and inclusion, including a new series of DEI learning and engagement opportunities for faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Thanks to the generous support of award sponsor Segal, CUPA-HR has made an $8,000 contribution to Gustavus Adolphus College.

Inclusion Cultivates Excellence Award

This award recognizes and celebrates institutional initiatives and programs that have made a significant impact with respect to inclusive and equitable workplace practices, particularly those that have brought about cultural change throughout the organization.

Inclusive Hiring Practices for Faculty and Staff Program, University of Colorado Boulder 

The goal of the Inclusive Hiring Practice for Faculty and Staff Program at CU Boulder was to develop a research-based, industry-leading approach to training, and a way to support more inclusive search practices on the Boulder campus. The program also aims to ensure every person involved in the hiring process has received training and/or has an inclusive search expert working directly with them throughout the search process. Read all about the program and its positive outcomes.

Thanks to the generous support of award sponsor EyeMed, CUPA-HR has made a $5,000 contribution to the University of Colorado Boulder.

National HR Excellence Award

This national award honors transformative HR work in higher education that results in significant and ongoing organizational change within the recipient’s institution. The recipient is chosen from the recipients of CUPA-HR’s four Regional HR Excellence Awards.

Culture Transformation Plan, Broward College 

Broward College’s Talent and Culture team spearheaded its three-year Culture Transformation Plan because it understood HR’s role in organizational culture. After completing information-gathering discussions and establishing clear goals, the team developed several unique initiatives to transform the college’s organizational culture, including the creation of talent business partner roles, Leadership 360 Assessments, psychological safety workshops, employee resource groups, new employee onboarding, and a leadership development program called BC LEAD that educates and empowers managers at all levels to rise to leadership excellence. Read all about their plan and its impact.

In recognition of the team’s efforts, CUPA-HR has made a $3,000 contribution to Broward College.

HR Innovation Awards

The HR Innovation Awards recognize innovative thinking in higher education HR, especially models that can be adapted for use on other campuses.

Warm Welcome, University of Florida

Recognizing a gap in the sense of belonging felt by new staff at their large institution, the volunteer-led Academic and Professional Assembly (APA) began thinking about ways to better foster inclusion and belonging on campus while also creating a stronger connection between staff and leadership. In designing a welcome experience, the APA’s goals were to officially welcome new staff, to foster a sense of belonging and community among all staff, to offer inspiration from leaders and to spark connections. The inaugural “Warm Welcome” occurred in the fall of 2019 and received great feedback. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the APA was successful in pivoting the event to a twice per year Zoom experience, a format that allowed the event to reach a broader audience and proved even more accessible to more staff. Read more about the program.

In recognition of the team’s efforts, CUPA-HR has made a $5,000 contribution to the University of Florida.

EXCELL Performance Coaching Conversation Model, Anne Arundel Community College

The EXCELL Performance Coaching Conversation Model was created as an alternative to a performance evaluation process that evaluated staff one time at the end of each fiscal year using a cumbersome online performance management system. The new model features a simple one-page evaluation worksheet that guides supervisors through five steps of a coaching conversation they have twice a year with employees. EXCELL is an acronym for those five steps: 1) EXpress appreciation, 2) Constructive coaching, 3) Environment and values, 4) Learning and growth, and 5) Listen to employee to develop goals together. The new model received positive reviews from the supervisors and employees, encouraged more engagement and appreciation between employees and supervisors, and proved to be more budget-friendly, as well. Read all about the pilot of this easy-to-replicate model.

In recognition of the team’s efforts, CUPA-HR has made a $5,000 contribution to Anne Arundel Community College.

Do You Know Someone Doing Award-Worthy Work?

CUPA-HR invites nominations for the Higher Education HR Awards beginning in January each year. In addition to an engraved award and national recognition, awards include a monetary contribution to the award recipient’s institution, made possible through the generous support of our award sponsors.