Announcing the 2026 AASHE Sustainability Award Winners!
Daita Serghi
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Dear Colleagues,
AASHE is pleased to announce the 16 recipients of the 2026 AASHE Sustainability Awards, recognizing outstanding achievements at both the individual and institutional levels. This year’s awardees demonstrate how sustainability is being advanced across higher education through innovative programs, collaborative initiatives, and student leadership.
Dr. Debra Rowe has been named as AASHE’s eighth Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Rowe’s career has focused on convening multi-stakeholder coalitions for climate mitigation and adaptation, just transitions to clean energy and sustainable economies, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Campus Sustainability Achievement awardees are:
- Johnson County Community College’s Sustainability Distinction Program, embedding sustainability across degree pathways
- McGill University’s climate resilience initiative, establishing a foundation for institutional risk management and adaptation
- The Urban Resilience Fellows Program at The University of Texas at Arlington, connecting students, faculty, and community partners to address regional challenges
- The Midwest Climate Collaborative, bringing together Washington University in St. Louis and an additional 15 institutions to address climate change at a regional scale
Through a four-part webinar series in May, each of these award-winning teams will share how they designed and implemented their initiatives. Join one or more sessions of this showcase!
We also celebrate Michael Brand and Melina Tisopulos (University of California, Berkeley) as the Student Sustainability Leadership Award winners for their student-led course on the environmental impacts of AI, which enrolled 350 students, breaking the university’s record for enrollment in a student-taught course in a semester.
The second cohort of AASHE Fellows includes:
- Aaron Durnbaugh at Loyola University Chicago
- Brandon Trelstad at Oregon State University
- Daniela Shebitz at Kean University
- Elaine Durr at Elon University
- Eundeok Kim at Florida State University
- Jean Wu at Franklin University Switzerland
- Krista Hiser at the Kapi'olani Community College
- Mark Kelly at Atlantic Technological University
- Shane Stennes at the University of Minnesota
- Stephen Ellis at Boston University
Together, these leaders and initiatives reflect the innovation, collaboration, and dedication driving sustainability forward in higher education. All best,
Daita
Daita Serghi, PhD
Senior Education Manager
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
www.aashe.org | daita....@aashe.org | (888) 347-9997 ext. 124