Outstanding Research Award
Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Division Spirituality and Religion in Higher Education
Application Deadline: October 1, 2025 | Award Type: knowledge community
The mission of the Spirituality and Religion in Higher Education Knowledge Community is to enhance and contribute to the conversations about spirituality in higher education across all types of post-secondary institutions. This knowledge community welcomes practitioners, students and faculty members from the profession of student affairs as well as persons for whom spirituality and religion constitute a major element of their work in higher education.
The Spirituality and Religion in Higher Education Knowledge Community Outstanding Research Award recognizes the work of an outstanding researcher or research team in their efforts to understand and equip Student Affairs professionals with the knowledge and skills to navigate religious, secular, and spiritual identities in higher education. As Kocet and Stewart state, “As professionals dedicated to holistic development, student affairs professionals need to be able to work with students along the paths (both individualized and communal) they use to find purpose and meaning in life.” (Kocet & Stewart, 2011) Therefore, increasingly innovative, complex, and practical research must be conducted to feed back into student affairs practice. This award honors research that provides promising practices and insights about religion, secularism, and/or spirituality in higher education.
Individuals seeking this award should demonstrate how their research aligns with the mission of the SRHE KC and/or improves the understanding of religious, spiritual, and secular identities in higher education. Nominations for the award must provide evidence for why the individual should be considered. Research must be completed by the time of submission. A brief description of the research goals, intended purposes of the research, existing documented research (blog posts, presentations, poster sessions, publications, etc.), as well as optional letters of support will be used to nominate individual or labs for this award. Self-nominations will be accepted.
Award recipients agree to share findings with the Knowledge Community within one year of awarding (i.e., KC newsletter or blog article, sponsored webinar, open meeting).
Recipients of this award will be recognized at a SRHE KC open meeting held during or near the time of the annual NASPA conference.
If you have any questions, please email the Awards Coordinator.
