Higher Education HR Awards
HR Innovation Award
Congratulations to our 2026 Workplace Excellence Award recipients, Auburn University and Dallas College!
This award honors transformative thinking in higher education HR, recognizing a new and innovative HR team, project or program that resulted in significant and ongoing organizational change within an institution. In their nomination, the recipient team, project or program will have demonstrated how they faced an issue on campus and successfully implemented a creative and unique solution resulting in lasting organizational change. CUPA-HR will make a $5,000 contribution to the recipient’s institution.
We ask that recipients be willing to share information about their innovation, either in a CUPA-HR publication or conference presentation.
Criteria
- The innovative model/team is unique, effective or both;
- The innovative model/team is in practice (that is, implemented) at the institution and has been received in a positive manner;
- The innovative model/team has led to improved performance of the institution, the unit in which the innovation resides or the human resources department;
- The nominee’s institution is a member of CUPA-HR.
Eligibility Note: Individuals who are employed by the association, individuals who serve on the CUPA-HR national board of directors, and the institutions of those directors are not eligible to be nominated or selected for awards during their terms of service.
In 2023, CUPA-HR’s Awards Committee and national board updated the criteria for the Innovation Award. These changes resulted in the merger of the HR Excellence Award and Innovation Award.
2026 Innovation Awards
Auburn University has received a 2026 Innovation Award for its TIGER Tech Leaders program. (top photo)
Dallas College has received a 2026 Innovation Award for its AI-enabled talent ecosystem. (bottom photo)
