Each year the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Award is presented by the UK Advising Network to one full-time professional advisor and one faculty advisor for outstanding service. Ken Freedman, the award's namesake, was one of the founders of the UK Advising Network in 1986 and served as a professional advisor at UK until his death in 2001.
In 2018-19, the UK Advising Network became a an institutional member of the National Academic Advising Association and opted to expand its awards program to align with NACADA's National Awards. In addition to the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Awards, the UK Advising Network started to recognize members of the UK community with awards for an Outstanding New Advisor, Empowering Leadership in Administration, Innovative Advising, and Advocate in Advising - Friend to the Community in 2019.