Lynn Pasquerella Named 2026 Recipient of NACU’s Ernest L. Boyer Award

The New American Colleges & Universities (NACU) is pleased to announce Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), as the 2026 recipient of the Ernest L. Boyer Award, recognizing her distinguished leadership and commitment to liberal education, civic engagement, and higher education’s role in preparing students for meaningful lives and careers.

The Ernest L. Boyer Award honors Boyer’s impact on education and recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to higher education through their scholarship and leadership. Throughout her career as a philosopher, professor, college president, and national higher education leader, Pasquerella has championed the value of liberal education not as separate from professional preparation, but as essential to preparing students to navigate a changing world, participate meaningfully in civic life, and use their knowledge in service to others.

“Lynn Pasquerella’s career reflects so much of what Ernest Boyer believed higher education could and should be,” said Seán Creighton, president of NACU. “At a time when colleges and universities face pressure to define the value of a degree in terms of employment, Lynn has advocated for a broader vision. She reminds us that career preparation and teaching students to think critically, contribute to their communities, and lead lives of purpose are not competing goals. They are parts of the same educational mission.”

Pasquerella has served as president of AAC&U since 2016, leading a national organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education. Her leadership has focused on issues including the value of liberal education, civic learning and democracy, equity and student success, and higher education’s responsibility to the public good. Before joining AAC&U, Pasquerella served as the 18th president of Mount Holyoke College from 2010 to 2016. Her scholarship and public leadership have consistently explored questions of ethics, social justice, access to education, and the role colleges and universities play in creating a more equitable society.

“I am deeply honored to receive an award bearing Ernest Boyer’s name. His vision of higher education rejected the false dichotomy between preparing students for work and preparing them for lives of meaning, purpose, and civic responsibility. From the founding of our nation, education was understood as essential to developing the informed and engaged citizens capable of sustaining a fledgling republic. Yet today, that responsibility is too often dismissed as outside higher education’s purview. Boyer reminds us that our obligation is larger: to equip students not only for their first jobs, but for the lives they will lead, the communities they will strengthen, and the world they will help shape,” said Pasquerella.

Pasquerella joins a distinguished group of Boyer Award recipients whose scholarship and leadership have shaped American higher education. Previous honorees include Freeman Hrabowski III, Beverly Daniel Tatum, José Antonio Bowen, and Betsy Barefoot and John Gardner, among others.  As part of the recognition, Pasquerella will be featured in an upcoming episode of NACU’s Degrees of Impact podcast.

About the Ernest L. Boyer Award

Ernest L. Boyer was one of the most influential voices in American higher education, challenging colleges and universities to reconsider the purposes of scholarship, the centrality of teaching and learning, and their responsibility to serve the public good. His work also broadened the definition of scholarship beyond traditional research to include application and teaching which prompted institutions nationwide to reconsider faculty roles. Boyer envisioned a “New American College” that would connect liberal education with professional studies and civic engagement, preparing graduates not only for careers but also to address society’s social, economic, and cultural challenges. That vision helped inspire the consortium that became the New American Colleges & Universities.  Established by NACU in 2011, the Ernest L. Boyer Award honors his enduring impact on American education and recognizes individuals whose scholarship, leadership, and contributions to higher education exemplify the ideals he championed.