SOE alum awarded ACPA’s Presidential Citation
Jason Cottrell, Ph.D. (M.Ed. ‘02) earned his M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from the VCU School of Education.
VCU School of Education alum Jason Cottrell, Ph.D., was awarded the Presidential Citation by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) at its annual convention in St. Louis earlier this month. Cottrell earned his M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from SOE.
The Presidential Citation is awarded at the discretion of the ACPA president based on their observation and direct work with the individual. There is no formal nomination process in place for this award, and the honor is rarely bestowed upon members of the association. The citation recognizes lifelong service and extraordinary contributions to the profession of student affairs and particularly to ACPA. It is one of the association’s highest honors.
During the award presentation in St. Louis, ACPA President Danielle Morgan Acosta, Ph.D., honored Cottrell for his "dedication, creativity, and steadfast focus and commitment” to ACPA in his role as convention chair for ACPA’s 2022 Annual Convention. She also said that while every convention chair has the challenge of bringing together and energizing the association's membership, this year was especially challenging.
“It has been a joy watching you build a volunteer team, fall in love with St. Louis, deeply dive into the complexities and histories of what it means to bring people to this space, and so willingly focus on who we are and what we – and higher education and the world – needs in this moment,” Acosta said, referring to Cottrell. “You’ve taken risks, pushed things forward that previously stalled, and held the weight – and some eternal optimism – about this week in ways that were motivating, encouraging, and downright inspiring.”
Cottrell, who is a lead research analyst in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education, has worked in higher education for over 20 years. He has been a member of ACPA for 13 years and has held numerous leadership positions in the association at the chapter, coalition and convention levels.
The ACPA is the leading comprehensive student affairs association that advances student affairs and engages students for a lifetime of learning and discovery. The association currently has 5,300 individual members and 360 college/university members.