APAO Seeks Award Nominations by March 20

The NIH Asian/Pacific American Organization (APAO) seeks nominations from NIH employees for its 2001 Outstanding Achievement Awards. Recipients will be honored in the evening program of the NIH Annual Asian/Pacific Americans Heritage Program in May. The award categories are as follows:

I. For significant accomplishments in advancing NIH/IC's EEO goals

II. For significant accomplishments in scientific research

III. For significant accomplishments in administrative work

Nominations are open to all NIH employees. For instructions on how to apply, visit the APAO homepage (http://www.recgov.org/r&w/apao/index.htm) or go directly to the awards site (http://www.recgov.org/r&w/apao/awards.htm) or contact Dr. Aftab A. Ansari, 45 Center Dr., Rm 5AS-25 S, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892 (FAX: 301-402-2406; EMAIL: ansaria@mail.nih.gov). Nominations for the awards should be sent to him as well; closing date is March 20. Recipients will be notified in the third week of April.

The NIH-APAO (Asian & Pacific American Organization) is an NIH-sanctioned organization that works with the NIH director's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity in supporting its goals and missions.  It supports the NIH programs that promote equality and fairness in the workplace for all NIH employees.

 Note:  This message is being sent by an authorized NIH LISTSERV user to all NIH employees.

ELIGIBILITY OF THE NOMINEE

The nominee must meet both criteria: a) the nominee must be an NIH employee; and b) the nominee must either be of APA origin or an APAO member. New members who join APAO at the time of nomination are also eligible. APAO membership is open to ALL NIH employees irrespective of their origin. APAO Membership application form (http://www.recgov.org/r&w/apao/form.htm) is available at APAO’s website.

ELIGIBILITY OF NOMINATOR

The nominator must be an NIH employee. An individual can nominate only one person for each of the three categories.

AWARD CRITERIA

Reaching a high, responsible position in itself is NOT an award criterion; specific accomplishment is. Applications will be reviewed for accomplishments in respective fields (EEO goals, scientific research, and administrative work).

In order to eliminate any bias in the review of applications, the reviewers will not receive information pertaining to the nominee’s and nominator’s names, positions, gender, race, and IC. The APAO hopes to make the selection process as fair as possible.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

The nominator should submit a two-part application to Dr. Aftab A. Ansari, 45 Center Dr., Rm 5AS-25 S, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892 (FAX: 301-402-2406; EMAIL: ansaria@mail.nih.gov) latest by March 20.

·      Submit only the information requested (total of 2 pages: 1 page for part 1, and 1 page for part 2). Do not submit any additional items.

·      Submit the application either by mail or fax or e-mail – but do not replicate the submission.

PART 1 – BASIC INFORMATION

This part will not be provided to the reviewers. Include the following information:

1.       Award Category

2.       Nominee’s Name and Degree (as they would appear in the certificate of presentation)

3.       Nominee’s Title

4.       Nominee’s Contact Information

5.       Nominator’s Name and Degree

6.       Nominator’s Title

7.       Nominator’s Contact Information

PART 2 – CITATION AND JUSTIFICATION

Follow the instructions carefully, as submissions that do not meet the guidelines may not be considered.

·      Start with a separate page using plain paper (not letterhead). Maximum length 1 page.

·      Do not include identities of the nominee or the nominator.

·      Do not include any reference to nominee’s name, gender, race, and geographical origin.

·      Examples: instead of the words "he" or "she" use the word "nominee." "His" or "her" should be replaced by "nominee’s." In bibliographic or similar citations, the name of the nominee should be replaced by the word "nominee."

Include the following information in part 2:

1.     Award Category for Which the Nomination is Made

2.     Citation: Enter a citation (20 words or less) indicating what achievement is being recognized by the nomination. Example: For developing a new vaccine technology

3.     Justification: Describe the accomplishment(s) that justify the recognition. Cite and/or list specific accomplishment(s). Please remember that reaching a high, responsible position in itself is NOT an award criterion; specific accomplishment is. Therefore, be as specific as possible. Focus on 1-3 major accomplishments, rather than describing all accomplishments.

TIME-LINE FOR THE AWARD PROCESS

January 20: Finalize award brochure containing announcement, application procedure, etc. Have the brochure included in the APAO Webpage

February 20: Publish award announcement seeking nominations in the NIH Record and NIH Listserve

March 20: Nomination deadline

April 10: Education and Awards Committee meets and selects candidates, announces the slate to APAO Executive Board and Council

April 20: The committee Chair announces the results to the candidates; orders plaques; sends regrets to those not selected.

May: Present the awards at the Heritage Month Evening Program, winners will be announced in the NIH Record.

(Dates are approximate and subject to change)

SELECTION PROCESS

1.    For all award categories the chairperson will ensure that the names of the nominees and the nominators, and references to gender and race are all blocked before the nominations are reviewed by the committee. Nomination papers will bear serial numbers.

2.    The Chairperson will distribute copies of all nominations to all committee members, and schedule a review meeting inviting all the committee members.

3.    All committee members will read all of the nominations and voice their selection. In voicing their opinions, the turn to speak first will be rotated.

4.    The chairperson will not vote except to break a tie, and will not express opinion on a candidate unless another committee member has spoken.

5.    Committee's decisions will be made by simple majority of votes.

6.    For the scholarship award (category IV) the Chairperson will obtain after the review meeting supporting documents. If the documents obtained do not support the claims made in the nomination, the next candidate in rank order will be considered for the award, instead.

7.    Committee’s decision will be presented to the APAO council for approval.