The Awards Committee shall:
- solicit nominations for awards through announcements in the August and November issues of Liaison;
- shortly after the announcement appears in the August issue of Liaison, the committee chair writes to the heads of Canadian university departments of statistics and related fields and to local representatives encouraging their members to consider nominating deserving colleagues.
- recommend to the Executive Committee by the end of February, via the President, potential recipients of Honorary Memberships and submit short citations and accompanying documentation. Ratification by the Board of Directors is required; this is normally done by a conference call;
- by March 31, recommend to the Executive Committee, via the President, potential recipients of the SSC Gold Medal and the Distinguished Service Award, and submit short citations and accompanying documentation for each award;
- after the above recommendations have been ratified, make arrangements with the Executive Secretary for the medal to be engraved and certificates to be prepared (the President should contact recipients of the awards, inviting them to be present at the Annual Meeting for presentation, also by the President, of the awards);
- submit articles for publication in Liaison, announcing the winners of these awards;
- prepare the Awards booklet which is distributed at the Annual Meeting and to the winners of the various SSC awards, as well as to their institutions.
- review the selection criteria for awards and recommend changes to the Board of Directors, as appropriate; and
- actively encourage nominations for all awards from a wide spectrum of the membership through various venues including, but not restricted to, announcements in the August and November issues of Liaison, general e-mail notices through g-ssc and personal contact with local representatives as well as Section presidents and Regional Association presidents;
- be in touch, through the chair of the committee, with the chairs of all the SSC committees responsible for awards and oversee the process.
Guidelines
The Awards Committee is expected to adhere to the SSC’s conflict of interest policy (
pdf). When a potential conflict of interest arises, the Chair of the committee should manage the conflict on a case-by-case basis. The SSC values and encourages Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in all of its nominations and awards. Please also see the SSC guidelines on implicit bias (
pdf).
SSC Gold Medal Award
The Gold Medal of the SSC shall be awarded to a person who has made outstanding contributions to statistics, or to probability, either to mathematical developments or in applied work. The recipient should be Canadian or permanent resident of Canada, and must have made high quality research contributions to the statistical sciences in Canada; the work justifying the nomination should have been done primarily in Canada in affiliation with the Canadian statistical sciences community. A recipient of the Gold Medal must have been actively engaged with the wider Canadian statistical community and be a member in good standing of the SSC.
Comments:
- The Gold Medal is intended to honour current leaders in their fields and is normally expected to be awarded to someone still active in research.
- Publicity should be given to the announcement of the award of the Gold Medal each year (in Liaison, the media and newsletters of other societies) in order to draw attention to the excellent work being done in Canada and by Canadians.
- A nomination consists of a nomination letter, a recent curriculum vitae of the nominee, at least four letters of support, and a suggested citation to accompany the award. The nomination letter must make the case that the nominee has been actively engaged with the Canadian statistical community and has made high quality research contributions to the statistical sciences primarily while in Canada.
- Nominations for the Gold Medal should be considered valid for three successive competitions unless withdrawn by the nominators. Nominators of unsuccessful candidates should be asked to add, replace or update biographical information and letters of reference as appropriate.
Distinguished Service Award
The Distinguished Service Award should be awarded to a person who has made substantial contributions to the running or welfare of SSC, over a period of several years. A recipient of the Service Award must be a member of the SSC.
Comments:
- A nomination for the Distinguished Service Award should include a CV, at least 2 letters of support which address the award criteria, and a suggested citation to accompany the award.
- The Distinguished Service Award will go to someone who, for several years, has worked hard in the service of the Society. Academic reputation, current research, or reputation in the world-wide statistical community will not be major concerns; the award is intended to reward devotion and service to statistics in Canada, as shown by exceptional service to the SSC.
- The award of the Service Award should not be regarded as a run-of-the-mill reward to retiring officers of the Society, even though their service may have been meritorious, unless the Awards Committee truly regards that service as exceptional.
Machinery for the Awarding of the Gold Medal and the Distinguished Service Award:
The Awards Committee will decide whether the awards will be given, and to whom. The Awards Committee shall report its decisions to the President by March 31. Ratification of the decisions shall be made by the Executive Committee by April 30, in time for the recipients to be alerted to receive the award at the Banquet held in conjunction with the SSC Annual Meeting. A short citation, approved by the Awards Committee, shall accompany each award. A person may receive the Gold Medal and the Distinguished Service Award in different years.
Frequency of the Awards:
Not more than one Gold Medal will normally be awarded each year; if no suitable candidate is found, or if the decision of the Awards Committee is not ratified by the Executive Committee, then no award shall be made. The same provisions shall apply to the Distinguished Service Award.
Honorary Membership Award
Honorary Membership in the SSC may be awarded to statistical scientists, or in special circumstances other individuals, of outstanding distinction who have made exceptional contributions to the development of the statistical sciences. The recipient should be someone whose work for which the Honorary Membership is awarded was substantially done in Canada or has had a major impact in Canada. The recipient need not be a member of the SSC.
Comments:
- This award is intended to recognize individuals who have had a substantial and longstanding impact on the development of the statistical sciences in Canada; it would normally be expected to go to retired individuals.
- This award is not intended to recognize individuals whose impact is based primarily on research contributions, of either an applied or theoretical nature, in the statistical sciences. Such individuals would more appropriately be considered as nominees for the more prestigious Gold Medal award. Of course, individuals holding the Gold Medal are eligible for consideration for Honorary Membership.
- The extent to which an individual's activities have contributed toward the achievement of the goals proclaimed in the Society's published Mission Statement might serve the Awards Committee as a useful guide in their assessment of individuals nominated for this award.
- A nomination consists of a recent curriculum vitæ, at least three letters of support, and a suggested citation to accompany the award.