GAAS 2012: Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award 2012 Presented

University of the Aftermarket Director Brian Cruickshank was presented with this year's award. Cruickshank was selected for the award to honor his work in providing and promoting educational resources to aftermarket professionals through University of the Aftermarket programs, as well as for the introduction of new programs such as Leadership 3.0, noted AAIA's Scott Luckett, who presented the award.

CHICAGO — Brian Cruickshank, director of the University of the Aftermarket, has been named the 2012 recipient of the Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award. He received the award yesterday at the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium in Chicago. AAIA's Scott Luckett presents this year's Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award to Brian Cruickshank, director of the University of the Aftermarket.

The Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award is given annually to the person, institution or company that best represents the automotive aftermarket in the education arena and is named after GAAS founder Mort Schwartz, a strong advocate for both the aftermarket industry and industry education. Cruickshank was selected for the award to honor his work in providing and promoting educational resources to aftermarket professionals through University of the Aftermarket programs, as well as for the introduction of new programs such as Leadership 3.0, noted AAIA’s Scott Luckett, who presented the award.

As director of Northwood University’s University of the Aftermarket, Cruickshank manages aftermarket-specific continuing and executive education programs. Prior to joining the university, he spent 15 years at Babcox Media, where he covered the motor vehicle aftermarket for a variety of national publications.  

He is very active in the industry, serving on committees within the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association and the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association. He is currently the Chairman of the Northwood University Automotive Aftermarket Advisory Board, past board member of the Automotive Training Managers Council and currently serves on the board of the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium. He was honored in 2009 with the AIA Young Executive of the Year Award and in 2010 with the AWDA Pursuit of Excellence Award. He earned his Automotive Aftermarket Professional designation from the University of the Aftermarket in 2004 and his Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional designation in 2010.  

Cruickshank previously served in the United States Marine Corps. He earned undergraduate degrees from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Northwood University’s DeVos Graduate School of Management.