The NCURA Gold Award recognizes an individual who has made a sustained and distinctive contribution to the vitality and enduring legacy of NCURA and may be awarded by the NLDC on an occasional and as-needed basis. This award was established in 2007 and the recipients are as follows:

As a Washington, DC local committed to the field of research administration, Julia Jacobsen played a paramount role in expanding the efforts of NCURA. Not only was she influential in bringing government speakers to the annual meetings, but when it came time for NCURA to establish an office in DC, Julia opened her home to the association. After she was elected as Secretary-Treasurer in 1974, she advocated for increased professional development opportunities and was instrumental in defining what would become NCURA’s Regions. In honor of the dedicated service to NCURA that Julia exemplified, the Distinguished Service Award was renamed the NCURA Julia Jacobsen Distinguished Service Award in 2013. Julia Jacobsen was awarded the inaugural Gold Award in 2007.

Bob’s volunteer work for NCURA was known by many as he worked at the regional, national, and global levels. In addition to serving as NCURA President in 2016, Bob served as National Treasurer, FRA Conference Co-chair, Chair of the Financial Management Committee, Chair of the Nominating & Leadership Development Committee and a Member of the NCURA Board of Directors in addition to many other committees. A long-time NCURA traveling faculty, Bob was one of the developers and faculty of NCURA’s first global workshop that took place in Qatar in 2012. He went on to teach in other areas around the world, including England, Russia, Italy, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. In 2016 Bob led an NCURA delegation to Cuba in an effort to increase collaboration between US and Cuban scientists. Bob was awarded the Gold Award in 2021.