Awards and Scholarships
Recognizing the impact and value our members provide our association through formal recognition.
Awards
New Professional Award
In order to recognize outstanding contributions to Residence Life, the Residence Life Professional Association is pleased to recognize and reward professionals that are new to Residence Life or the RLPA. The award has an added benefit of encouraging new professionals to stay in residence life and the RLPA. All members of the RLPA are encouraged to nominate deserving individuals. Nominations can be forwarded to any member of the executive.
Criteria
The executive will evaluate and select the award recipient. The award will be presented during the RLPA Annual General Meeting. The criteria upon which nominations will be evaluated are as follows:
- Open to all new Residence Life Professionals working full-time at a post secondary institution that is a member of the RLPA for less than 5 years.
- Active involvement in Residence Life and the RLPA.
- Innovative or creative work within Residence Life.
- Indication of significant leadership potential in the Residence Life Profession.
Past Awardees
| 2008 | Tim Siemens | Red Deer College |
| 2009 | Brett Phillips | University of Alberta |
| 2010 | Jim Fowler | Grant MacEwan University |
| 2011 | Judy Eyben | Lakeland College |
| 2012 | Laura Huxley | MacEwan University |
| 2013 | Angela Chappell | Augustana (U of A) |
| 2014 | Nicky Renault | MacEwan University |
| 2015 |
Alana Turner Alena Boczek |
University of Alberta Mount Royal University |
| 2016 | Kristin Davick | Mount Royal University |
| 2017 |
Meghan Reiser Dillon Andrus |
University of Alberta Red Deer College |
| 2018 | Christine Zapisocki | University of the Fraser Valley |
| 2019 |
Sarah McCrae Jesara Nichol |
Augustana (U of A) University of Lethbridge |
| 2020 | Auburn Phillips | University of Lethbridge |
| 2021 | Zac Young | University of Alberta |
| 2022 | Dini van Eck | University of Alberta |
| 2023 | Tess Bickley | Mount Royal University |
Josie Lamothe Memorial Award for Outstanding Service
This Honour, originally termed the Outstanding Professionals Service Award, is given to a professional staff member within the RLPA for their outstanding contributions to student service.
In order to recognize outstanding contributions to Residence Life, the Residence Life Professional Association is pleased to continue giving an Outstanding Service Award. The award is named after Josie Lamothe, who made a significant contribution to Residence Life in Western Canada. All members of the RLPA are encouraged to nominate deserving individuals.
Criteria
The Executive Board will evaluate and select the award recipient and present the award during the RLPA Annual General Meeting.
The award criteria is as follows:
- Outstanding contributions to the RLPA through participation at the executive or committee levels.
- Outstanding contributions to Residence Life within post-secondary institution within Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, or the Territories.
- Exemplary record in service as a mentor to other Residence Life professionals or Resident Assistants.
- Successful implementation of unique or innovative programs contributing to the betterment of Residence Life at an institutional or provincial level.
Past Awardees
| 1997 | Lorne Williams | University of Lethbridge |
| 1998 | Jan Finney | University of Calgary |
| 1999 | Glenice Grover | Red Deer College |
| 2000 | Margot Bell | University of Alberta |
| 2001 | Tracey Mason | University of Alberta |
| 2002 | Dima Utgoff | University of Alberta |
| 2003 | Mark Chytracek | Augustana University College |
| 2006 | Sylvia Cholodniuk | University of Saskatchewan |
| 2007 | Randy Fines | Lakeland College |
| 2008 | Dima Utgoff | University of Alberta |
| 2009 | Janet Athenasiou | University of Alberta – Augustana |
| 2010 | Not Awarded | N/A |
| 2011 | Nanci Krushelnicki | College of New Caledonia |
| 2012 | Brianna McElroy | Mount Royal University |
| 2013 | Chris Fukushima | University of Alberta |
| 2014 | Craig Whitton | University of Alberta |
| 2015 | Glenda Staples | Medicine Hat College |
| 2016 | Not Awarded | N/A |
| 2017 | Tim Siemens | Red Deer College |
| 2018 | Judy Eyben | Lakeland College |
| 2019 | Natasha Reynolds | Mount Royal University |
| 2020 | Robert Ford | University of Alberta – Augustana |
| 2021 | Not Awarded | N/A |
| 2022 | Bob Lambert | Mount Royal University |
| 2022 | Dillon Andrus | Red Deer Polytechnic |
Mark Chytracek Life Time Membership
This Honour is given to individuals deemed to have provided outstanding service related to Residence Life within the RLPA region. Typically given to individuals who are retiring, moving into a different area of work or moving out of our region, this award recognizes professionals who have dedicated significant time to our field and in doing so, positively impacted the lives of both students and colleagues.
Criteria
The Executive Board determines each year if any professionals are deserving of this award and announce recipients at the Annual General Meeting. Those selected are given a lifetime membership to the RLPA, including complimentary registration at all future meetings they would like to attend.
The award criteria include:
- Outstanding contribution to the field of residence life within the RLPA region
- Long term service within the field
- Lasting impact on the field and its practitioners
- Lasting impact on students
- Formal service on the board is not required but can be taken into account
Past Awardees
| 2013 | Sylvia Cholodniuk | Awarded when it was called ‘Lifetime Membership’ |
| ? | Dima Utgoff | Awarded when it was called ‘Lifetime Membership’ |
| ? | Glenda Staples | |
| ? | Glenice Grover | |
| ? | Chris Fukushima | |
| ? | Jo-Anne Wilson | |
| 2023 | Tracey Mason-Innes |
RLPA Leadership Society
The Residence Life Professional Association acknowledges the important and significant contributions that student leaders make to the residence environment. Each year, the RLPA honours outstanding student leaders and inducts them into our own Residence Hall of Fame. The individuals listed here have made a difference in residence by displaying leadership skills and commitment within the campus community. Each of them in their own way has demonstrated superior leadership within residence and has made campus life better for the residents.
Criteria
In order to be considered for admittance into the RLPA Leadership Society, candidates must:
- Have been a student resident of an RLPA member institution in the academic year nominated
- Be nominated by a full-time staff member from their institution
- Be in good standing academically at their institution
- Have demonstrated superior leadership within the residence community
- Each school may nominate up to 10% of its student leader group!
Superior Leadership shall be discerned at the discretion of the member institution’s residence life professional or housing manager. Demonstrated qualities of leadership may include, but are not limited to, the following traits, skills or behaviors:
- Effective Communicator
- Stress Tolerant
- Assertive
- Assumes Responsibility
- Contributes to the Team
- Cooperative
- Adaptable
- Dependable
- Creative
- Proactive
- Decisive
- Alertness
- Energetic
- Diplomatic
- Persuasive
- Persistent
- Ambitious
- Self-Confident
- Organized
- Respected
Scholarships
STARS College
ACUHO-I STARS College is designed for students who have at least one year of undergraduate study remaining or anticipate having one year before entering graduate school or a full time role after August of 2023. They must also demonstrate significant interest in campus housing, residence life, and student affairs through their involvement or work experience during their time as an undergraduate.
The Residence Life Professional Association (RLPA) will provide scholarships to cover the full cost of registering for student staff from member institutions to attend STARS College.
- Have at least one year of full time post-secondary education remaining after STARS College attendance.
- Demonstrated significant interest in housing via involvement and/or jobs in the field of housing, Residence Life, or Residence Student Associations.
- Obtain Institutional support to attend STARS College; in the of written consent.
- Currently attending an RLPA member institution.
- Attend and fully participate in STARS College, happening virtually on October 15, 22, and 29, 2023.
Applicants will be assessed on the following material:
- A letter of recommendation from a current supervisor or mentor in the housing profession
- A maximum 650 word response to the following questions:
- What involvement have you had in the housing and/or residence life field?
- What are your career aspirations?
- What are you hoping to get out of the STARS College experience?
Should an applicant fail to meet all of the criteria but feels that they warrant consideration, we encourage applicants to apply anyway, stating the criteria they do meet, and why a special consideration should be made. The selection committee will consider these applications on merit, and on a case-by-case basis.
For more information on STARS College, please visit www.acuho-i.org/stars.
We will be opening applications for our STARS College Scholarship soon. Please check back again soon.
Strategic Cohorts Scholarship
This scholarship is intended to support attendance at the annual conference for a professional who would benefit from the experience and who may not otherwise be able to attend. This award aligns with providing incentives to engage strategic member cohorts as identified by the ACUHO-I Executive Board. Scholarship recipients are required to meet at least one of the following criteria:
1. Be a professional of color.2. Be a professional working full-time at a small college or university (under 2,000 beds) or an HBCU, Tribal or religious university.3. Be a new or advancing professional.4. Be a professional with an accepted presentation proposal for the annual conference
The recipient of this scholarship will receive $1000.00 USD to support their attendance at ACUHO-I‘s Campus Home. Live! (formerly Annual Conference and Exposition).
We are not currently accepting applications for this scholarship. Please check back again soon.
New/Advancing Professionals Scholarship
The New/Advancing Professionals scholarship is open to all RLPA members with five years or less of full-time experience in the campus housing field. This scholarship is intended to recognize new and advancing professionals in the campus housing field or professionals who are new to the organization/conference; to help delegates connect with other professionals through networking opportunities; to facilitate mentoring and provide access to new knowledge.
The recipient of this scholarship will receive $1000.00 USD to support their attendance at ACUHO-I‘s Campus Home. Live! (formerly Annual Conference and Exposition).
We are not currently accepting applications for this scholarship. Please check back again soon.