Lifetime Service Award

Sponsored by the American Accounting Association


Call for Nominations and Award Criteria

Nominations Deadline: January 31 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time


Previous Award Recipients


The Lifetime Service Award Committee is currently accepting nominations for the 2025 Lifetime Service Award.

Award Intent

The Lifetime Service Award recognizes service contributions to accounting education over a sustained period of time through:

  • Service to the AAA, including its Sections, on committees, task forces, special projects, leadership, and AAA publications.
  • Service with the education efforts in the profession through involvement with the AICPA, IMA, and other accounting professional organizations.
  • Service with the education efforts of public accounting firms, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations.
  • Nominations are especially encouraged that propose AAA members whose career contributions have made a significant impact beyond their own institutions.
  • A nominee need not excel in each of these general criteria to merit consideration for the award.

Instructions for Submitting Nominations

  • Any person or group, including the award committee, may make nominations; however, self-nominations will not be accepted.
  • Current committee members who are nominated for the award will be asked to either recuse themselves from the committee or remove their nomination from consideration.
  • Beginning with the 2025 submissions, nominations may include work that was not selected for the award in a prior year, as long as the eligibility requirements continue to be met.
    • Eligible nominations will not automatically roll-forward to the following year, although the award committee has the option to recommend eligible nominations be rolled forward. The nominator will be informed of the nomination status at the completion of the award cycle, and updates to the nomination letter are encouraged even for nominations that are selected to be rolled forward. 
  • Each nomination must include a nomination letter.
    • Nomination letters will be accepted for two days after the submission deadline. If a nomination letter is not received, then the nomination will not be evaluated.
      • The nomination letter should clearly identify the nominee and the nominee's current address, if possible, and
      • A statement that summarizes, in terms of the award intent, why the nominee merits consideration, and
      • The nominee's current curriculum vitae, and
      • Other appropriate evidence documenting the nominee's accomplishments. This evidence normally includes (but is not limited to) letters from students, alumni, colleagues, or professional organizations that speak to the qualities summarized in the nomination.
  • Please attach the nomination letter and materials to an email and send to Barbara Gutierrez, Professional Staff Liaison, at awards@aaahq.org with "Lifetime Service Award" in the subject line of your email.
  • Upon receipt of your nomination you will receive an acknowledgment message from Barbara Gutierrez, Professional Staff Liaison.
  • All documents submitted in support of your nomination become the property of the American Accounting Association.
  • Deadline: January 31st (11:59 pm Eastern Time)

Award Presentation

  • The recipient(s) will receive Lifetime Membership in the AAA and an award at the AAA Annual Meeting.
  • The recipient(s) will be announced on the AAA website and in multi-topic mass emails.