The LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education is pleased to announce the winners of our annual awards. The awards will be presented in person at the annual Leadership Institute in Milwaukee on October 16.
Emerging Leader Award
The inaugural Emerging Leader Award will be presented to Antonio Duran, Ph.D.
Duran (he/él) is an Associate Professor of Higher and Postsecondary Education at Arizona State University. His scholar-advocacy has long been dedicated to multiply-minoritized queer and trans communities. In a nominating letter, Duran’s colleague said “Antonio’s scholarship reveals a dedication to mentoring the next generation of higher education scholars and practitioners. His co-authors are often early-career scholars and higher education and student affairs professionals.”
She continued, Duran “co-coordinated Arizona State’s Higher and Postsecondary Education program, spearheading the creation of an online MEd. His service as a faculty affiliate for Project MALES (a research and mentoring initiative dedicated to fostering Latino educational success), vice chair of membership outreach for ACPA’s Coalition on Men and Masculinities, co-chair of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, and co-chair of equity and inclusion for AERA’s Division G (to name only a few) demonstrates Antonio’s dedication to the profession.”
Founders Award
Now in its second year, the 2025 Founders Award is shared by two people, Charlita Shelton, Ph.D. and Karen Whitney, Ph.D.
Shelton serves as the Special Consultant to the President at Central Washington University. Her past experiences in higher education include serving as Chief of Staff to the President at Gonzaga University, Campus President for Argosy University in Atlanta. She holds the title of President Emerita of the University of the Rockies (now University of Arizona Global). Shelton is an experienced consultant and well-published scholar who has given presentations across the United States, focusing on executive leadership development, women in leadership, structural inequality, social justice, first-generation college completion, institutional climate, and regional accreditation.
Whitney’s forty-year career in higher education has included serving as Interim Chancellor at the University of Illinois Springfield, the President of Clarion University, and the Interim Chancellor for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Previously she was Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Clinical Associate Professor of Education at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). She also held various leadership positions at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and the University of Houston. Whitney has been active in a variety of LGBTQ communities both in and out of higher education. She was one of the first openly gay senior student affairs officers in the 1990s. All along this journey she has been joined by her spouse of over 30 years, Dr. Peggy Apple. Whitney is now passionately focused as a consultant and advisor to higher ed leaders who wish to lead courageously and confidently.
