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Distinguished Public Service Award (DPSA)

The purpose of the Distinguished Public Service Award Committee is to administer the Distinguished Public Service Award (DPSA). The DPSA recognizes non-academics outside of the field of applied linguistics whose work (1) raises public awareness of important social issues connected to language and (2) makes exceptional contributions to the promotion of multilingualism, linguistic justice, and language-related human rights. 

The award is given to an individual or team whose primary occupation is non-academic, including but not limited to writers, journalists, legislators, activists, lawyers, diplomats, or content creators. Should the award be given to a team, the team will decide which individual will accept the award on the team’s behalf. 

The award will be in the form of a plaque or statuette in addition to a monetary award of $1000 to the individual or designated entity. An effort shall be made to present and publicize the award in a public forum that benefits the visibility of AAAL and the awardee(s).  The 2027 award nomination is now open. Additional information is listed below. 

Submit

Eligibility

Criteria for eligibility include but are not limited to the following:

  • The awardee(s) must be primarily working employed in a field other than academia (i.e., not university/college/school staff, faculty or administration) and may not be a member of AAAL currently or within the past five years. Nominees may be considered if they engage in part-time academic work (e.g., as an adjunct) provided that their primary occupation is non-academic and the contributions for which they are being nominated cannot be construed by the DPSA Committee as falling within the scope of academic service. 
  • To avoid any appearance of endorsement, individuals currently running for public office may not be nominated. 
  • The contributions of the nominee must be high-profile, constituting an exceptional positive impact on multilingualism, linguistic justice, or language-related human rights on a regional, national, and/or international scale. 

The 2026 award nomination is closed. For questions about the Distinguished Public Service Award, email info@AAAL.org.

Timeline

  • March: Call for nominations announced
  • June 1: Nomination Deadline
  • June – July: Committee undertakes review and deliberation
  • July 15: Committee notifies the AAAL Business Office of the award results
  • July 31: Deadline for President to notify the winner

Recipients