Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria:
- Evidence of exceptional professional commitment to geography at any level, including service to professional organizations; colleges and universities; primary and secondary education; local, state, or national government; private business and industry;
- Examples of worthy contributions include but are not limited to appointed or elected professional offices, journal editorships, professional organization committees, speaking or otherwise providing leadership in a variety of public forums, and publication in the popular press.
For nomination guidelines, please follow the link to the SEDAAG Awards Page.
The following distinguished Geographers have been awarded the SEDAAG Outstanding Service Award since 1987.
| Year | Recipient | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ||
| 2022 | Dawn Drake | Missouri Western State University |
| 2021 | Heidi Lannon | University of Florida |
| 2020 | Katherine Hankins | Georgia State University |
| 2019 | Deepak Mishra | University of Georgia |
| 2018 | Eric Fournier | Samford University |
| 2017 | Kathleen Schroeder | Appalachian State University |
| 2016 | David M. Cochran, Jr | University of Southern Mississippi |
| 2016 | Carl A. Reese | University of Southern Mississippi |
| 2015 | Doug Gamble | University of North Carolina, Wilmington |
| 2014 | Hilda Kurtz | University of Georgia |
| 2011 | Derek Alderman | East Carolina University |
| 2010 | Jonathan I. Leib | Old Dominion University |
| 2009 | Laurence W. Carstensen | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| 2008 | Donald Zeigler | Old Dominion University |
| 2007 | Gerald Webster | University of Wyoming |
| 2006 | Ron Mitchelson | East Carolina University |
| 2005 | Kavita Pandit | University of Georgia |
| 2003 | Tyrel “Tink” Moore | University of North Carolina, Charlotte |
| 2002 | Lizbeth Ann Pyle | West Virginia University |
| 2001 | John J. Winberry | University of South Carolina |
| 2000 | Truman Hartshorn | Georgia State University |
| 1999 | Howard G. Johnson | Jacksonville State University |
| 1998 | Thomas Bell | University of Tennessee |
| 1997 | Dennis L. Spetz | University of Louisville |
| 1996 | Jesse O. McKee | University of Southern Mississippi |
| 1996 | David C. Weaver | University of Alabama |
| 1995 | Janet E. Kodras | Florida State University |
| 1994 | J. Dennis Lord | University of North Carolina, Charlotte |
| 1993 | James O. Wheeler | University of Georgia |
| 1992 | Stanley Brunn | University of Kentucky |
| 1991 | Neal G. Lineback | Appalachian State University |
| 1990 | Stephen S. Birdsall | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
| 1989 | Harm de Blij | Miami University |
| 1988 | Sidney Jumper | University of Tennessee |
| 1987 | Donald Patton | University of Florida |