Awards Committee
I. Purpose
The Awards Committee has five major purposes:
- To publicize awards offered by the Society of American Archivists to ensure
outstanding entries.
- To actively seek and solicit nominations for awards offered by the Society of American Archivists.
- To evaluate the nominees for each award and to select winners in each category.
- To plan and carry out the awards ceremony held each year during the Society
of American Archivists Annual Meeting.
- To review suggestions for new awards, develop criteria and guidelines,
and make recommendations to the SAA Council.
II. Committee Selection, Size, and Length of Terms
The Awards Committee is comprised of the two committee co-chairs and the chairs
of each of the awards subcommittees: Colonial Dames Scholarship Award, Distinguished
Service Award, Waldo Gifford Leland Prize, Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer
Kegan Award, Sister M. Claude Lane Award, Fellows Posner Prize, C.F.W. Coker
Award, Oliver Wendell Holmes Award, Theodore Calvin Pease Award, J. Franklin
Jameson Archival Advocacy Award, Preservation Publication Award, and Minority
Student Award.
Annually the vice-president and the vice-president/elect consult and cooperate
in appointing co-chairs, one each year to serve a two-year term. The selection,
size, and length of term of each subcommittee is separately established by
Council and described in the Council Handbook chapter on awards.
III. Reporting Procedures
Awards are announced during the SAA Annual Meeting. The co-chairs also report
this information to Council through the SAA annual reporting form.
The co-chairs ensure that the awards are listed in the annual meeting report
in the SAA Newsletter and in an official report in The American Archivist.
The co-chairs represent the committee when meeting with other SAA committees
and with SAA Council and staff.
IV. Duties and Responsibilities
The Awards Committee publicizes SAA awards through announcements in the SAA
Newsletter and the newsletters of regional archival associations. It also may
publicize the awards through open houses scheduled during SAA annual meetings
or conduct other activities to make archivists more aware of SAA awards. The Committee also solicits nominations for SAA awards by contacting individuals, archival organizations, and other groups that may be aware of worthy nominees.
The committee establishes a deadline for awards nominations to be sent to
the committee
chair (normally June 1 or earlier depending upon the date of the SAA annual
meeting). The Awards co-chairs distribute nominations to the appropriate subcommittee.
Each subcommittee evaluates nominations it receives on the basis of written
award criteria and selects award winner(s) as appropriate. Policy questions
regarding criteria or eligibility for an award may be directed to the Awards
chair, the SAA Executive Director, or Council for necessary clarification.
The Awards co-chairs, in conjunction with the Awards Committee and the SAA
Executive Director, plan an appropriate awards ceremony for the SAA Annual
Meeting. Normally the ceremony is led by the Awards chair with each subcommittee
chair presenting the award for which he/she is responsible. In addition to
presenting the award, the subcommittee chair prepares an awards citation that
presents the subcommittees reasons for presenting the award and may be read
at the ceremony.
From time to time, the committee reviews awards criteria and procedures and
recommends any revisions that may be appropriate. The committee may recommend
new awards for Council consideration. The committee also evaluates awards and
changes to guidelines proposed by members of the Society and makes recommendations
to Council concerning the proposals. Should new awards be approved, the Awards
Committee is responsible for drafting appropriate award criteria and procedures.
V. Meetings
The committee meets at the Society's annual meeting.
Approved by Council: June 1988
Revised: January 1993 and January 2007
See also
Description of Awards
Nomination Form
|
