SACUBO Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award is given annually to recognize an individual in the SACUBO region for his or her distinguished service to higher education in the field of business and financial management. The recipient of the 2026 Award will be recognized at the 2026 Annual Convention in Dallas, Texas.

The deadline to submit nominations has now passed.

 Guidelines and Eligibility

  • Nominees must be contributing members of our professional community and must be, or have been, directly associated with managing resources in higher education.
  • Nominees must show mature and effective professional skills, leadership ability, and vision.
  • Nominees may not be currently serving on the SACUBO Board, staff, or Distinguished Service Committee.

Awards will be made at the selection committee's discretion and with the approval of the SACUBO Board of Directors. It is not required that the award be given annually.

2026 Recipient

Anita Kovacs
Pensacola State College

SACUBO is proud to recognize Anita Kovacs as the recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Service Award. This prestigious honor reflects a career defined by leadership, service, and a lasting commitment to excellence in higher education, business, and financial administration.

Currently serving as Vice President for Business Affairs at Pensacola State College, Anita has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to advancing institutional effectiveness while supporting student success. Her leadership spans a wide range of critical functions, including finance, budgeting, and administrative operations, where she has consistently brought strategic insight and operational strength to her institution and the broader higher education community.

Anita’s impact extends well beyond her campus. She has been an active and engaged contributor within professional organizations, including SACUBO and NACUBO, where she has shared her expertise, mentored peers, and helped shape conversations around best practices in financial management. Her commitment to the profession has been further recognized on a national level, including receiving a NACUBO National Accounting Award—an honor that underscores both her technical expertise and her leadership within the field.

Throughout her career, Anita has exemplified the very qualities this award represents: integrity, innovation, collaboration, and service. Her ability to lead with both vision and practicality has made a meaningful difference not only at Pensacola State College but across the institutions and colleagues she has influenced along the way.

Please join us in congratulating Anita Kovacs on this well-deserved recognition and in thanking her for her continued contributions to SACUBO and the higher education community.

Previous Recipients

More About Anita Kovacs

Ms. Kovacs has more than three decades of experience in public higher education finance and governmental accounting. Before joining Pensacola State College, she served as Associate Vice President for Finance at Florida State College at Jacksonville and as Controller at South Florida State College.

At the state level, Ms. Kovacs is widely recognized for her leadership in accounting standards and financial reporting. She currently chairs the Florida College System Accounting Committee and has served as Chair of the GASB Subcommittee since 2005. She is an ex officio member of the Florida College System Council of Business Affairs Steering Committee and serves on the Operations Committee of the Florida College System Risk Management Consortium. Ms. Kovacs is known to help Florida College System institutions with financial and accounting matters.

Nationally, Ms. Kovacs serves as an ex officio member of NACUBO’s Accounting Principles Council and as NACUBO’s representative on the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council. She previously served as Chair of the SACUBO Constituent Committee and as a member of the SACUBO Board.