AU Today - Awards and Honors

Aurora University is once again earning recognition in higher education. For the third consecutive year, the university is among the top 10 institutions on the U.S. News & World Report 2027 Best Colleges in Illinois list, alongside Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of...

Aurora University’s SOAR: Summer Orientation and Registration program has been named a finalist for the 2026 Examples of Excelencia, a national, data-driven initiative recognizing programs that demonstrate evidence of effectiveness in improving Latino/a and all student...

Hanna Anderson ’26 MSW/MPA was named Social Work Student of the Year by Agents of Change, an exam preparation and education platform for aspiring social workers. One of two students to receive the national honor, Anderson earned free test preparation materials valued at $500 for her...

President Susana Rivera-Mills has been named a member of the Aspen Institute’s Aspen-Kern Presidential Leadership Fellowship. As a fellow of the Aspen-Kern Program for Leadership and Character in Higher Education, Rivera-Mills will participate in workshops, engage in personalized...

Earlier this month, Shaka Rawls ’99, principal of Leo High School in Chicago, returned from a meeting to a surprise assembly announcing him as a recipient of the 2026 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership. Students, colleagues, family members, former classmates, and reporters...