Recognizing 2026 AAUP Award Winners

The AAUP recognized five recipients of AAUP awards at this year's AAUP Higher Ed Summit and Biennial Meeting.

Dr. Shannon Cummins of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Professor Belle Boggs of North Carolina State University received the Georgina M. Smith Award, established in 1979 to honor AAUP leader Georgina M. Smith and recognize exceptional leadership in improving the status of academic women or academic collective bargaining.

Dr. Dee Sherwood of Western Michigan University and Professor Joseph Fu of the University of Georgia received the Marilyn Sternberg Award, given to AAUP members who demonstrate concern for human rights, courage, persistence, political foresight, imagination, and collective bargaining skills.

Finally, Jennifer Ruth of Portland State University, a longtime and significant defender of academic freedom at both the national and chapter levels of the AAUP, received the Outstanding Achievement Award, established in 2016 and granted to an AAUP member for outstanding chapter- or conference-level work that advances academic freedom or shared governance.

Thank you to all our members for the work that you do, and to our awards recipients for your efforts in defending higher education!