Higher education professor honored by ACUI as a 2023 distinguished faculty

Tricia Shalka, associate professor at the Warner School of Education, was honored by ACUI, as the organization bestowed her with the 2023 Distinguished Faculty Award. She received the award at the 2023 ACUI Annual Conference that took place from February 26 to March 2 in Boston, Massachusetts.

This award recognizes a faculty member's demonstrated support of college unions and campus community building. It’s presented to a full-time faculty member who demonstrates evidence of including the “college union idea” in coursework, conducts or supports research relevant to advancing campus community, and fosters relationships that promote the college union and demonstrate participation outside their position as a full-time faculty member.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted college activities and college unions around the world. Shalka’s research related to student trauma and its impact on a student's experience, as well as her work related to leadership development and a sense of belonging, has provided important knowledge for student affairs professionals that advances ideals of ACUI related to the “college union idea” and fostering campus community.

“It is such an honor to receive this award from an organization whose work is anchored in student-centered approaches to creating a sense of community as a priority in any campus environment,” says Shalka. “I’m humbled for my work to be recognized as contributing to these aspirations.”

At the Warner School, Shalka is a faculty member in the higher education program, where she teaches master’s- and doctoral-level courses. Her scholarship is actively informed by her previous experiences in higher education administration, where she has worked in residential life, fraternity and sorority life, student affairs assessment, and student and young alumni programs. She is an associate editor for the Journal of Trauma Studies in Education and is on the Journal of College Student Development editorial board. Her work has been published in several prominent journals, including The Review of Higher Education, the Journal of College Student Development, the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning.

Shalka is also a 2020 recipient of ACUI’s Chester A. Berry Scholar Award, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding writing that honors ACUI’s first executive director’s timeless and intellectual contributions in the field of college unions and student activities.

Founded in 1914, ACUI is a nonprofit educational organization that brings together college union and student activities professionals from hundreds of schools in seven countries. ACUI is the professional home to thousands of campus community builders around the world. Primarily focused on the work of those within the college unions and student activities field, the Association strives to provide an inclusive, welcoming community for all those who choose to belong. ACUI is formerly known as the Association of College Unions International.