CoSA Awards Program

The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) Awards Program is pleased to acknowledge individuals, institutions, and programs that have enriched and strengthened our nation's state and territorial archives. The Awards Program rewards innovative efforts and provides encouragement for the development of new and remarkable projects. By recognizing exemplary achievements, the CoSA hopes to inspire others to make similar contributions to the field of government archives. The awards will be presented at the CoSA annual meeting and all recipients will be recognized on CoSA's website and other communication outlets.

For more information about each award, directions for applying, and a list of past recipients, click on the titles below.

Sample Press Release

Award winners can use this Sample Press Release to help publicize their award.

2023 Nominations, Selection, and Presentation Schedule

Check back for information about the 2024 call for nominees.

April 7 April 4, 2023: **Extended Deadline for nominations - 11:59pm Eastern

May 9, 2023: Announcement of award recipients

July 2023: Awards presented at CoSA Annual Meeting

The Council of State Archivists Awards Program is generously sponsored by

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CoSA Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award was created by the CoSA Awards Committee in 2023 to recognize a peer who has performed dedicated service to CoSA and, in so doing, elevated the work and the voice of state and territorial archives. The recipient will be nominated by and chosen at the discretion of the committee, and may not be given every year.

Victoria Irons Walch Leadership Award

Recognizes the sustained leadership and outstanding contributions of an individual or institution to the development of state and territorial archives or to CoSA.

Victoria Irons Walch Emerging Leader Award

Encourages the development of an emerging leader in state and territorial archives by providing training funds for an individual to attend leadership training.

CoSA-Ancestry Leadership Award

With the generous support of Ancestry™, the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) welcomes applications to support our next generation of leadership. Awards will be made to mid-career employees in state and territorial archives.

CoSA-NHPRC SHRAB Award of Merit

CoSA and the NHPRC are pleased to recognize outstanding SHRAB single or multi-year projects and programs with the SHRAB Award of Merit.

Advocacy for Archives Award

This award acknowledges an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to efforts by state, territorial, and local government archives to ensure the preservation and availability of the American historical record.

Rising Star Awards

These awards acknowledge outstanding contributions by individual staff.

President's Awards of Excellence

The President's Awards of Excellence are given at the discretion of the CoSA President and are not open for nominations.