ESA Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension

This annual award, consisting of $500 and an inscribed plaque, recognizes outstanding contributions to extension entomology. The awardee is presented with the plaque at the ESA Annual Meeting.

Eligibility

The nominee must be a current ESA member and have demonstrated excellent performance through program creativity, impact, achievement, and delivery. Also, only nominations from ESA's Branches are accepted for this award. Each Branch is limited to one new nomination per year. However, certain Branch renominations will be accepted; please see Renomination section below for details. Members who have selected "foreign" as their branch must contact one of the five Branches directly to request a nomination for this award.

Previous Winners

Please click here to see a list of those who have previously received this award.

Electronic Submission Requirements

All nomination packages must be submitted electronically according to the following specifications (paper nominations will not be accepted):

Page Limits

• The entire nomination package must not exceed 20 pages total. This includes letters of nomination or recommendation and publication lists.

• Letters of nomination and recommendation must be included in the electronic package. Printed letters sent in lieu of electronic versions will not be accepted.

File Specifications

• Only the following file formats will be accepted: PDF (Adobe Portable Document Format), RTF (Rich Text Format), TIF graphic files, or JPG graphic files. Files created on either PC or MAC platforms will be accepted. Please make sure scanned images can be clearly read on a computer screen.

• Font size for text may not be smaller than 10 point.

• A nomination package may contain no more than 6 separate files, and the size of each file must not exceed 3 MB.

Submission Methods

Nomination packages may be submitted by either of two methods:

• PREFERRED METHOD: Submit online via the Nomination Submission Website. This method eliminates problems associated with e-mailing large files. Nominators are strongly encouraged to use this method.
  OR

• E-mail the nomination package as attached files to the awards administrator. In the submission e-mail, please include the title of the award in the subject of the e-mail. In the body of the e-mail, provide the name of the nominee, the nominator's contact information, and a list of the attached files.

Nomination Requirements

Nomination packages for this award must include:

CV-Related Items

Nominators must provide the information called for in the CV template, either in the template's format or in their own format. To view the CV-related nomination requirements for this award, as well as the CV template, please click here.

Other Items

1. Letter of nomination that provides a brief explanation of how the individual excelled in performing his/her duties, including innovations in training, programs, and methods

2. Up to three letters of endorsement from professional colleagues and clientele

Evaluation Criteria

Nominees/candidates will be judged using the following criteria for a total of 100 points:

1. Professional Background (60 points total)
   1. Leadership and participation in professional activities (10)
   2. Honors, awards, achievements, and recognition (7)
   3. Special assignments and committee activities (10)
   4. Service outside of extension, including community activities (7)
   5. Grantsmanship (8)
   6. Recommendation of colleagues, peer groups, etc. (8)
   7. Publications (10)
2. Program Management (40 points total)
   1. Creativity and innovation of program's concept (8)
   2. Development, educational strategy (8)
   3. Implementation, including publications (8)
   4. Diversity of program's delivery (8)
   5. Evidence of program's impact (8)

Deadline

Nomination packages must be received by ESA headquarters by July 1. This deadline refers to receipt by the awards administrator of a complete package in a readable format. Therefore, early submission is highly recommended. The awards administrator will confirm receipt of nomination packages within two business days, and also notify nominators of any problems with nomination package files within that time.

Renomination

Any candidate nominated, but not selected, may be renominated no more than two times within the two-year period after his/her initial submission. Nomination packages will be retained for two years by the awards administrator. Nominators must send a letter of renomination to the awards administrator by the nomination deadline above. Previously submitted documentation will be used for the evaluation process unless the nominator submits new or updated documents. The renomination e-mail must contain this additional documentation. New or updated documents must follow the electronic submission requirements noted above.

Notification

The awards administrator will notify all candidates and their nominators with the results of their nomination approximately two months after the nomination submission deadline. 

For questions about this award, please click here.