Awards & Scholarships

Congratulations to the 2009 Award winners, who were honored at the Awards Banquet, held during the SOPHE Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. To see a roll call of the winners click here.

To see a list of all National SOPHE award winners and the nominations criteria or applications for each, click the categories below:

Distinguished Fellow Award. This is SOPHE’s highest form of recognition for a SOPHE member. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to SOPHE and the profession of health education.


Honorary Fellow Award. This is SOPHE's highest form of recognition for a NON-SOPHE member. This award recognizes a person who has made exemplary and lasting contributions to the field of health education and public health. (The recipient of this award is selected by the SOPHE Executive Committee.)


Program Excellence Award. This award recognizes outstanding health education programs (not agencies) in existence for at least three years.


Open Society Award. This award will be given each year to recognize an individual or group who embodies and promotes an Open Society, through research, practice, and/or teaching.


Health Educator Mentor Award. This award recognizes individuals who have provided excellence in mentorship to health educators in their preparation, performance, and practice; and have served to successfully bridge the rift between practice and research.


Chapter Award for Excellence. This new award seeks to recognize and publicize creative, effective and replicable methods implemented by SOPHE chapters to deliver one or more core member services. The innovation must be designed for effective delivery of one or more of the following chapter core services: membership, fiscal management, board and leadership development, communications, continuing education, alignment of chapter and national strategic plans, and/or bylaws and policies. Any chapter with active designation status in national SOPHE may be nominated.


Graduate Student Research Paper Award. This award is designed to foster quality graduate student research and provide a mechanism by which to recognize outstanding graduate students for creative and innovative research. The recipient of this award is encouraged to submit the paper for review to SOPHE’s journals, Health Education and Behavior and Health Promotion Practice.


Vivian Drenckhahn Student Scholarship Award. This award provides support to both undergraduate and graduate level full-time students in their pursuit of educational and professional development in health education. Up to two awards will be given.


SOPHE/CDC Student Fellowship in Injury Prevention. This one-year fellowship is designed to recognize, assist and train graduate students working on unintentional injury prevention projects from the perspective of health education or behavioral sciences.


SOPHE/ATSDR Student Fellowship in Environmental Health/Emergency Preparedness. This one-year fellowship is designed to recognize, assist and train students working on projects in environmental health promotion and social justice or emergency preparedness from the perspective of health education, health promotion or the behavioral sciences.


SOPHE/CDC Student Fellowship in Child, Adolescent and School Health. This one year fellowship is designed to recognize, assist and train students working on projects that address aspects of child, adolescent, and school health from the perspective of health education, health promotion or the behavioral sciences.


SOPHE 21st Century Fund Student Scholarship.  This award provides conference support to full-time undergraduate and graduate level students to attend the SOPHE Midyear Scientific Conference, or Annual Meeting or Health Education Advocacy Summit.


SOPHE Trophy. This award is given by the President to honor a SOPHE member who has devoted substantial service to the Society. (The recipient of this award is selected by the SOPHE President.)


Lawrence W. Green Paper of the Year Award.  This annual award is presented to authors of a paper published in Health Education & Behavior (HEB) that has made a significant contribution to the health behavior and health education literature.  Past honorees have advanced theoretical foundations of health behavior, utilized innovative quantitative or qualitative methodologies, or have conducted programs and evaluations that strengthen the scientific evidence base for social and behavioral change. The award of $1000 is presented at the SOPHE Annual Meeting Awards Banquet each year and is named for Dr. Green, a former HEB editor whose leadership helped advance the stature and recognition of both the journal and the field of health education.


Sarah Mazelis Paper of the Year Award.  The Sarah Mazelis Paper of the Year Award recognizes authors whose peer-reviewed articles in Health Promotion Practice have made significant contributions to advancing the practice of health education and health promotion programs, policy, or professional preparation. Each year, the Associate Editors of Health Promotion Practice vote upon the best paper of the year. The award is then presented at the SOPHE Annual Meeting.