VRA offers awards in recognition of contributions to the field of visual resources and image management.

Awards are administered by the Awards Committee.

Awards News

How do awards work?

    • Should be current VRA members

    • Should not be current members of the Board

    • Should not be current members of the Awards Committee

    • Can recognize anyone, VRA member or not

    • Should not recognize current members of the Board

    • Should not recognize current members of the Awards Committee

    • Should not recognize past recipients of that same award

    • Can be given posthumously, in extraordinary circumstances

  • Honorary Life Membership

    • Recognition during the Annual Conference Awards Ceremony  

    • Ongoing free life membership in the Visual Resources Association

    Distinguished Service Award

    • Recognition during the Annual Conference Awards Ceremony

    • Official certificate and dossier

    • $400 cash prize

    • A small gift

    Nancy DeLaurier Award

    • Recognition during the Annual Conference Awards Ceremony

    • Official certificate and dossier

    • $300 cash prize

    • A small gift

    vrcHost Membership Awards

    • Recognition during the Annual Conference Awards Ceremony

    • 365 days of membership in the Visual Resources Association

  • Nominations are submitted in the form of a dossier (all combined into one PDF). This dossier must include:

    • The nominee’s curriculum vitae

    • A cover letter of nomination describing how the nominee meets the criteria, written by the nominator(s)

    • Letters written in support of the nomination

    • Documentation in support of the nomination, if applicable 

    Electronic nominations via e-mail or file hosting service such as Dropbox or Google Drive are preferred. Members of the VRA Awards Committee, upon reviewing submitted dossiers, may recommend one recipient of the Award in any given cycle; recommendations are subject to approval by the VRA Executive Board.

Award Categories

Honorary Life Members Award

Special Honorary Life memberships are awarded to Individuals, designated representatives of an Institution, Contributing or Patron members by the Executive Board in recognition of eminent distinction in any of the fields of the Association’s purpose. Honorary Life Members are not required to pay dues and they have all the privileges of Individual members.

  • Kathe Hicks Albrecht

    Christine L. Sundt

    Christina Updike

    Allan T. Kohl

    Jenni Rodda

    In fond memory:

    Eleanor Collins

    Nancy DeLaurier

    Margaret Nolan

    Nancy Shelby Schuller

    Luraine Tansey

Distinguished Service Award

Each year the Visual Resources Association honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. Nominees must have achieved a level of distinction in the field either through leadership, research, or service to the profession. Someone could also be considered who has shown outstanding innovation, participation, or project management.

Nancy DeLaurier Award

The Nancy DeLaurier Award (NDL), named for one of the pioneers of the visual resources profession, annually honors a visual resources professional for distinguished achievement in the field. “Achievement” is measured by immediate impact, and may take the form of published work, oral presentation, project management, software development, technology application, website creation, or other outstanding effort. Originally (1997) conceived as a Writing Award, to be presented in recognition of a published paper, the Nancy DeLaurier Award now recognizes many forms of achievement in the field.

vrcHost Membership Awards

The vrcHost Membership Awards provide a year of individual VRA membership, and chapter memberships of the recipient’s choice, generously sponsored by vrcHost. They are intended to provide VRA memberships to engage new members in the organization and to help existing members, who might need financial assistance to retain their VRA membership.