The Awards Committee administers procedures and arrangements for bestowal of awards by the Association. The Awards Committee establishes and maintains its own procedures and criteria for the bestowal of each of the various awards under its jurisdiction. The Awards Committee may, at its discretion, elect to by pass bestowal of any award in any interval during which, in its judgment, there is a shortage of meritorious nominations for that award.
1. Membership of the Awards Committee
consists of six members of the Association. Members are appointed for a three
year term. Each year two members end and two members begin their term. In
addition, additional members may be appointed to the Awards Committee for a
period of one term to help with the process of selecting award recipients.
These additional members will likely serve on one or two subcommittees that
will be needed (see below). Membership of the committee is recommended to
Council by the Committee on Committees and appointments are made by the President
and/or Council. While members of the Awards Committee may recommend prospective
members to the Committee on Committees, they do not select their own committee
members. They do, however, elect the committee's chair who should be someone
who will be a continuing and active member of the committee. The Chair serves
for one year, but can be reelected.
2. The deadline for nominations of awards. The deadline for all nominations for all awards, except the Scholarship Award is February 1 of the year the awards are given. For the Scholarship Award, the deadline is November 1 of the year preceding the year the award is given. Award Committees can change the deadlines if they so wish. For all awards, three copies of supporting documents, letters, evidence, books, articles, etc. must be included with the nomination. [Please note that the PSA gives one award that the Awards Committee does not deal with. This is the Social Conscience Award. This award is given to a community-based organization in the city in which the PSA Annual Meeting is held. This award is determined by the Social Conscience Committee.
3. Committee
Procedures. Normally, the
Awards Committee shall divide itself into subcommittees, such that at least one
member, except the chair, shall serve as a Principal Judge for one of the
Association's awards and as Secondary Judge for another. Each subcommittee
reports its recommendations for awards to the committee of the whole for
consideration and ratification. If costs are incurred due to the need for Xeroxing
and mailing materials, the PSA office will reimburse the members. A receipt
should be sent to the Executive Director for reimbursement.
The Awards Committee may decide to
keep nominations from a previous year in the next year's pool, but the usual
procedure is NOT to do this. Other decisions, such as closing dates for
nominations, rules for supporting documentation, criteria for the awards, etc.
are made by majority vote at the annual meeting of the Awards Committee or by
e-mail, correspondence, or phone.
Alternative subcommittee
arrangements may also be made at the discretion of the chair as required by the
nature of the workload in a given year.
The Nominations Process. In the May and September Newsletters,
the Executive Director will place an announcement of the awards, soliciting
nominations from the Association's members. In addition, the Executive Director
will include an announcement of the awards in the dues renewal letter which is
sent to members in late October and November.
4) The Awards
The Distinguished Scholarship Award
The Pacific Sociological Association's Award for Distinguished Scholarship is granted to sociologists from the Pacific region in recognition of major intellectual contributions embodied in a recently published book or series of at least three articles on a common theme. To be eligible for the award, a book must have been published no earlier than two years before the award is given. If a nomination is based on a series of articles, the most recent article in that series must have been published no earlier than two years before the award is given. The Committee does NOT accept nominations for the Scholarship Award from Publishers. Nominators must be from individual members of the PSA. If a book has both a hardback and paperback copyright date and no significant changes have been made in the book between editions, the committee will consider the earlier copyright date as the one determining eligibility for the award
The Dean S. Dorn Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award
The Dean S. Dorn Outstanding Contributions to Teaching Career Award honors outstanding contributions to the teaching of sociology. The award recognizes individuals whose distinction as teachers have made a significant impact on how sociology is taught. It is typically given for contributions spanning several years, or an entire career. Nominations for this award should be submitted in packet form and include the following information: 1) A summary statement of the nominee’s contributions to the teaching of sociology that may include but is not limited to: honors and awards received by the nominee; publications or scholarly activity related to teaching/pedagogy; papers presented at national conferences on teaching/pedagogy; innovative approaches to teaching; a discussion of the nominee’s impact in disseminating knowledge; leadership in teaching; mentoring students. 2) Current curriculum vitae. 3) A minimum of six letters of support from students and colleagues, including the nominator’s letter. 4) Other supporting documents as deemed relevant (optional).
The Early Career Award for Innovation in Teaching Sociology
The Early Career Award is designed to honor and encourage
the work of junior faculty (typically fewer than seven years post-Ph.D.). This
award recognizes innovative and creative approaches to teaching and
demonstrated commitment to mentoring students. Nominations for this award
should be submitted in packet form and include the following information: 1) A
summary statement of the nominee’s contributions to the teaching of sociology
that may include but is not
limited to a discussion of innovative and/or creative approaches to teaching,
and a discussion of the nominee’s impact on student learning; demonstrated
commitment to teaching pedagogy through presentations, publications, workshops
or other evidence. 2) Current curriculum vitae. 3) A minimum of six letters of
support from students and colleagues, including the nominator’s letter. 4)
Other supporting documents as deemed relevant (optional).
The Distinguished Praxis Award
The Pacific Sociological Association's Distinguished Praxis Award honors sociological work in the Pacific region (whether by an academic or non-academic) that has an impact on government, business, health, or other settings not directly connected with academia. The grounds for nomination include (but are not limited to) any applied sociological activity that improves organizational performance, contributes to community betterment, and/or eases human suffering. Nominators must provide:
- A nominating letter that provides an overview of the nominee's distinguished practice contributions;
- Letters of support from individuals having direct knowledge of the nominee's distinguished contribution to sociological praxis.
- Copies of presentations at scholarly conferences, published articles, and/or grant/contract proposals, primarily authored by the nominee, which address issues in sociological praxis.
The Distinguished Undergraduate Student Paper Award
The Pacific Sociological Association's Distinguished Student Paper Award recognizes an undergraduate student for a paper of high professional quality. To be eligible a paper must be (a) worthy of special recognition for outstanding scholarship; and (b) written by an undergraduate student or students in the Pacific region. The paper must be unpublished.
The Distinguished Graduate Student Paper Award
The Pacific Sociological Association's Distinguished Student Paper Award recognizes a graduate student for a paper of high professional quality. To be eligible a paper must be (a) worthy of special recognition for outstanding scholarship; (b) in a format appropriate for submission to a major journal with a likelihood of acceptance; and (c) written by a graduate student or students attending a University in the Pacific region. At least one letter of support and three copies of the paper should accompany nominations.
The Distinguished Contribution to Sociological Perspectives Award
The Pacific Sociological Association's Distinguished Contribution to Sociological Perspectives Award honors an outstanding article published in Sociological Perspectives during a two-year period. To be eligible, the article must be worthy of special recognition for outstanding scholarship and contribution to the discipline. The article must have been published no earlier than two years before the award is given. This award is given bi-annually.
The Social Conscience Award
The Pacific Sociological Association's Social Conscience Award is given to a worthy community-based organization located in the city in which the PSA Annual meeting is held. This is a monetary award and honors a community organization based that is engaged in providing a much-needed social service in the community. You must provide the committee with two copies of supporting documentation.
Committee Report:
Past Committee Reports
We are in the process of making all committee reports accessible through the web.
In the meantime, for information on past meeting programs, please contact the PSA Executive Office.
