SCUP is fortunate to have many members who have impacted the society through their volunteer service. These volunteer leaders are eligible to be nominated annually for the SCUP Distinguished Service Award. This year, 52 nominees were presented to the SCUP Board of Directors for consideration. After careful deliberation, and with the society’s governance transition in mind, the board chose to bestow distinguished service awards on three individuals whose leadership laid the foundation for the development and implementation of SCUP’s new governance structure.

Andrea Lex joined SCUP in 1989 and served as Mid-Atlantic regional representative for one year (1998-1999). She was program chair of SCUP-38 (Miami-2003) and served on the SCUP-42 (Chicago-2007) conference committee as an ex-officio member during her presidental year. In 2001, Lex was elected to the board and was quickly named treasurer, a position she held for five years. She was on an advancement task force in 2002 and then served on the committee that was created by the board that same year-the SCUP Advancement Committee (later changed tot he SCUP Marketing Committee). She was president July 2006-July 2007. She served on a sustainability task force in 2006 and chaired the SCUP Nominating Committee from July 2007-July 2008 as immediate past president. She served on a board-appointed nominations and elections task force in 2008 and returned to the nominating committee in 2011.

• She led the development of board policies that standardized financial and logistical operations across all five regions ensuring a consistent member experience. To accomplish this, she guided the SCUP board, regional councils, and staff through highly sensitive discussions that yielded consistency and collaboration. SCUP emerged stronger and poised for growth.
• She served as treasurer for five years and was SCUP’s first secretary-treasurer.

Michael F. Middaugh joined SCUP in 1986 and became active as a national volunteer in the early 1990s serving on the Professional Development Committee, the SCUP-30 (Washington DC-1996) conference committee, and later on SCUP-41 (Honolulu-2006). He chaired SCUP-34 (Atlanta-1999). He was president from July 2005-July 2006. During his presidency, the Institutional Decision Making and Resource Planning (IDMRP) Academy was renamed the Budget and Resource Planning (BRP) Academy to attract higher education budget professionals and chief financial officers. Several new group dues categories were created to increase memberships, including Group F for community colleges and state systems and a small corporate group to better meet the needs of members at smaller firms. During his year as immediate past president, he chaired the SCUP Nominating Committee and served as a member on two task forces (academic and facilities). He then joined the Editorial Team and Editorial Review Board of SCUP’s journal, Planning for Higher Education. He currently serves as the journal’s executive editor. He is a frequent presenter on the topic of accreditation, integrated planning, cost containment, and budget planning at SCUP’s annual and regional conferences.

• His advancement of integrated planning during his presidency with specific outreach to the accreditation, finance/budget, and academic planning higher education communities.
• He chaired a task force in 2007 that led to the refinement of the SCUP Strategic Plan, which is still in use today.
• He co-authored a SCUP book (with Beth Sibolski and David Hollowell) titled Integrated Planning and Assessment: A Practical Guide, which became the most popular print book published by the society.

John A. Ruffo joined SCUP in 1998 and became active as a member of the Facilities Planning Academy and academy convener on the SCUP-37 (San Diego-2002) conference committee. He was co-chair of the SCUP-38 (Miami-2003) conference and supported the SCUP-45 (Minnesota-2010) conference committee as an ex officio member in his role as SCUP president. He served as board liaison to the SCUP Awards Committee in 2006. He served as president from July 2009-July 2010, when the US economic climate changed the higher education landscape. Ruffo worked with the board and membership committee to freeze dues during this time of financial hardship for many members. As immediate past president, he served on the SCUP Finance and Audit Committee and chaired the SCUP Nominating Committee. Ruffo currently represents SCUP past presidents on the SCUP Governance and Leadership Committee.

• He led the development and implementation of the society’s multi-year budget process during his presidency (2009).
• He was actively involved in the formation of the SCUP Academy Council and for bringing its chair onto the board of directors.
• He worked with the professional development committee to develop a one-day workshop on sustainability with a focus on campus-wide integration. It was successfully launched in the fall of 2006 and contributed to SCUP’s leadership in the area of sustainability planning.