The Outstanding CEC Leadership Award

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is a professional association of educators dedicated to cultivating, supporting, and empowering education professionals who work with individuals with disabilities by:

  • Advocating for education professionals and for individuals with disabilities, and/or gifts and talents
  • Advancing professional practice and scholarly research
  • Promoting diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility
  • Building networks, partnerships, and communities
Information
Information
Deadline:
October 23, 2023
Award type:
Achievement/Honorific
Presented by:
CEC National
Contact

Award Details:

The Outstanding CEC Leadership Award honors a CEC member who has provided exemplary leadership to the organization at the unit, division and/or national/international levels over an extended period. The nominee’s achievements and contributions have resulted in advancing CEC’s leadership in the field and the Council’s work to improve positive outcomes for children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.

The Outstanding CEC Leadership Award recipient must: 

  • be a current CEC member at the time of nomination and granting of the award;
  • demonstrate CEC’s core values: 
    • Visionary Thinking: Demonstrated by forward-thinking and courageous decision-making dedicated to excellence and influence in an evolving environment.
    • Integrity: Demonstrated by ethical, responsive behavior; transparency; and accountability.
    • Inclusiveness: Demonstrated by a commitment to diversity, caring, and respect for the dignity and worth of all individuals.
  • have provided exemplary leadership within CEC in various areas, including:
    • governance
    • unit and/or division leadership 
    • committee/workgroup leadership
    • member engagement
    • DEIA initiatives (related to practice, professional development, or membership) 
    • professional development/training
    • policy and advocacy
    • professional standards and/or accreditation  

Nominate Online

Nomination Instructions

  • Nominations must be made by an individual who is currently, or has been, employed in the field of education/special education, or a CEC-affiliated organization (i.e., Unit, Local or Student Chapter, Division, or Subdivision) that has direct knowledge of the nominee’s work as described above.
  • Self-nominations are not accepted.
  • All nomination materials must be submitted online by 12:00 pm Eastern, October 23, 2023.
  • The nomination form is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F55Y23J
  • Supporting materials can be uploaded into the online nomination form as PDF (strongly preferred), doc, docx files or video link. If you are unable to upload any documents, please email them to Sharon Rodriguez. Alternatively, responses can be typed into the online form.
  • Please use file name(s) to clearly indicate reference to the nominee and award. 
  • (e.g., “Smith_CEC_Leadership_Award.docx” or “Smith_CEC_Leadership_Nomination.docx”).
  • All materials become the property of CEC and will not be returned.
  • Posthumous nominations are NOT accepted. 

 

Required Materials 

  • Nominee’s Work
    • List CEC leadership roles (including dates) the nominee has held at the unit, division, and/or international level. Describe the nominee’s contributions, and their impact on advancing CEC’s mission, in the following areas. Quantitative documentation should be provided where possible. 
      • governance
      • unit and/or division leadership 
      • committee/workgroup leadership
      • member engagement
      • DEIA initiatives (related to practice, professional development, or membership) 
      • professional development/training
      • policy and advocacy
      • professional standards and/or accreditation
    • Letter word limit: 1000 words
    • Video time limit: 8 minutes
  • Vita/Resume of Nominee  
  • Letters/Videos of Support  
    • Provide three letters of support (beyond the nomination) addressing the nominee’s efforts in meeting the award criteria. 
    • Letter word limit: 750 words
    • Video time limit: 5 minutes

 

Selection Considerations 

The CEC Honors Committee has the authority to give only one Outstanding CEC Leadership award or opt not to grant the award in any given year.

 

Recipient Recognition and Benefits

The award recipient(s) will be:  

 

Questions? 

Please contact Sharon Rodriguez.  

2023 Mikki Garcia View Press Release
2022 Not awarded  
2021 Not awarded  
2020 Not awarded  
2019 Not awarded  
2018 Antonis Katsiyannis  
2017 Douglas Cheney  
2016 Lyndal M. Bullock  
2015 John Wills Lloyd  
2014 Susan K. Johnsen  
2013 Rosa (Amy) Milagros Santos  
2012 Howard S. Muscott  
2011 Gerald J. Reynaud  
2010 Margaret J. McLaughlin  
2008 Donna McNear  
2007 William K. Bogdan  
2006 H. William Heller  
2004 Philip H. Hatlen  
2003 Jean Hebeler  
2001 Gerald J. Hime  
2000 Beverly Johns  
1999 Anders Martin Berg, Jr.  
1998 Parthenia D. Cogdell  
1997 Jack R. Lamb
Mary Jean Lambert		  
1995 Pamela K. Gillet  
1994 Eleanor Guetzloe
William R. Littlejohn		  
1993 Jo Thomason  
1992 Frances P. Connor  
1991 June Peterson Robinson  
1990 Robert E. Abbott
John W. Kidd		  
1989 June B. Jordan
Kenneth E. Wyatt		  

 

Last Updated:  2 October, 2023

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