Awards Committee

• Introduction
• Committee Members
• Terms of Reference
• Nomination Information
• News

Introduction

Each year, SCB presents five distinguished service awards and one LaRoe award for outstanding contributions to conservation biology or its application in policy, education, or journalism. Membership on the committee is open to any member of the society. The members of committee help to generate a diverse set of nominations from around the world for these awards. In addition, committee members help to define the policies and procedures for the awards process. This committee is open to new members at any time but is usually recrafted after the annual meeting.

Committee Members

Terms of Reference

Updated: June 1, 2006

The Awards Committee establishes awards in order to recognize the contributions of individuals and organizations to the conservation of biodiversity. The Awards Committee:
(a) proposes nominees for awards to the Board of Governors in time for approval by the Board of Governors before the annual meeting of the Society,
(b) proposes new awards to the Board of Governors, and
(c) proposes potential sources of funds for such awards.

Each year, SCB presents six awards. We give five Distinguished Service Awards for outstanding contributions by an individual or institution to conservation of biodiversity through research or its application in policy, education, or journalism. We also give the Edward T. LaRoe III Memorial Award annually to an individual who has been a leader in translating principles of conservation biology into real-world conservation. Preference is given to individuals who have spent at least part of their career in public service.

Membership on the committee is open to any member of the Society. Awards Committee members help to generate a diverse set of nominations from around the world. In addition, committee members help to define the policies and procedures for the awards process. This committee is open to new members at any time but is usually recrafted after the annual meeting. Chair strives for committee members from all 7 SCB Sections. All committee members help to select the distinguished service awardees. A subcommittee of the full committee selects the LaRoe awardee, and that subcommittee also includes the three most recent LaRoe award recipients.

Mid- September 2006: Each Award Committee member informs Award Committee Chair of 1-2 nominations that they will bring forward for 2007 Distinguished Service Awards. In addition to sending the names of candidates they will nominate, also send information about individuals who will be contacted to provide supporting letters. One candidate may be nominated directly by the committee member, and the other may be generated through a colleague with the member’s encouragement and support. Names for the LaRoe award are sent to LaRoe Subcommittee Chair.

Oct 1, 2006: Each Award Committee member completes the nomination of the stated candidates: All nominations and supporting materials must be submitted electronically in one document to Kathryn Saterson. saterson.kathryn@epa.gov. Nomination form is online at www.conbio.org. Please note that it is the responsibility of the committee members to coordinate with the person who might be submitting their second nomination to meet the Oct. 1 deadline. Letters of application for the LaRoe award are sent to Michael Scott.

October 15, 2006: Award Committee Chair assembles final package comprising short descriptions of award nominees with relevant portions from the recommendation letters and circulates it to the Awards Committee. LaRoe committee chair does the same.

October 15, 2006: SCB Executive Director informs Award Committee Chair of total travel budget available for awardees and coordinates with SCB annual meeting host to ensure that candidate’s meals, housing will be taken care of.

Oct. 15-29, 2006: Award Committee members review the package and discuss the merits of candidates electronically via SCB intranet site.

October 29 – November 8, 2006: Committee members cast their final vote for awardees, taking into account gender, geographic, and disciplinary diversity in the overall group of awardees. This is to be done via the SCB intranet site. We will probably vote first for individuals, then discuss groups of individuals, and finally vote on one set of recommended awardees to forward to the SCB Board for approval. LaRoe Subcommittee Chair also provides short description of finalists for LaRoe award to Awards Committee chair.

November 18, 2006: Award Chair forwards short descriptions of finalists for Distinguished Service and LaRoe Awards (along with comments of committee members) to Executive Director of Society for Conservation Biology. ED posts materials on intranet site and makes site ready for BOG members to review the descriptions and other materials for each recommended awardee.

Sometime between December 1 and December 15: SCB Award Committee Chair coordinates with SCB Executive Director to finalize a date for teleconference discussion by BOG members. BOG members take stock of Committee feedback, and exchange views on the finalists for both Distinguished Service and LaRoe awards. Board members recommend approval or veto of each proposed awardee. If the board vetoes a name, the Awards Committee can choose to bring forth another name for approval or decide to give out fewer than six awards.

December 16, 2006: Results announced to SCB and BOG by Awards Committee chair.

December 20, 2006: Awards Committee Chair and LaRoe Sub-Committee Chair send out notification of their selection to awardees. Nominators and committee draft description package on 2006 winners.