The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is now seeking nominations for its 2025 Awards of Excellence and its 2025 President’s Transportation Awards. The nomination period closes May 7.
[Above left to right: NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins receiving the 2024 Thomas H. McDonald Memorial Award from AASHTO Exec. Dir. Jim Tymon. Photo by AASHTO.]
The 2025 Awards of Excellence program encompasses three individual honors – the Alfred E. Johnson Achievement Award, the Thomas H. MacDonald Memorial Award, and the Francis B. Francois Award – while the 2025 President’s Transportation Awards honors individuals or teams at state departments of transportation for exemplary service to make their communities better.
- The Alfred E. Johnson Achievement Award is given annually by AASHTO to an individual rendering the most outstanding service in the field of engineering or management, which can cover both technical and administrative aspects.
- The Thomas H. MacDonald Memorial Award – established in 1957 to honor the long-time chief of the Bureau of Public Roads and considered AASHTO’s highest honor – is given to persons active or retired employed by one or more AASHTO member departments for a period of at least five years who have “rendered continuous outstanding service over an extended period of time or have made some exceptional contribution to the art and science of highway engineering.”
- The Francis B. Francois Award – named after the late Francis B. Francois, who served as AASHTO’s executive director from 1980 to 1999 – is presented to one AASHTO member state with a $10,000 graduate fellowship at a state university of the winner’s choice. This award recognizes innovation – defined as something that establishes, increases, or enhances value to the public – and is open to any AASHTO member state, though each state is limited to only one award application submittal per award cycle.
Finally, for the 2025 President’s Transportation Awards, nominations can be made by an AASHTO member chief executive officers or by the chairs of AASHTO committees or councils for individuals or teams at state DOTs that have performed exemplary service during the year
New for 2025 is that there are no set categories for the President’s Transportation Awards. Instead, AASHTO will accept nominations for people or teams that align with AASHTO’s vision – providing improved quality of life through leadership in transportation – its overall mission – supporting state DOTs work to connect America with the transportation system of today and tomorrow – as well as the goals and objectives outlined in AASHTO 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.
Objectives can include strengthening resiliency; evaluating emerging trends in technologies, policies and practices; innovate and modernize products and services; and communicating the value of transportation, to name a few of the many objectives outlined in the plan.
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