Nominations / Self-Nominations

The Broadening Participation Committee (BPC) created the Broadening Participation Service Award to honor SICB members who have a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) in integrative biology. The Award will be presented annually to an individual SICB member, or group of members, and will include an honorarium of up to $1500.

The BPC will evaluate applications from SICB members at any career stage who have strengthened the integrative biology community by promoting DEIJ in our fields. Promoting DEIJ may include, but is not limited to, DEIJ research and broad dissemination of research findings, participation in existing programs that has led to the recruitment and retention of students, implementing and/or directing DEIJ programs for an institution, organization, and committee, and engaging with and providing enrichment opportunities for communities that do not have access to resources for STEM programming. We welcome nominations and self-nominations for this award. The recipient(s) will be recognized in our upcoming newsletter and will be awarded an honorarium of up to $1500 (shared among recipients in a group) to be used at their discretion. Funding for the Service Award is due to the generosity of the Gans Collections and Charitable Fund.

***Eligibility Note: No contemporary officer or member of the Broadening Participation committee for SICB is eligible for the award. Membership in SICB is not required to nominate someone for the award but the nominee(s) should be a current society member. If a group is being nominated, at least one member from the group should be a SICB member.***

Self-Nominations and Nominations: If you are self-nominating, please assemble your application as indicated below. If you are nominating an individual or a group, please send an email that includes the name(s) of the nominees and their emails to the Chair of the BPC, (chair.bpc@sicb.org) with BP Service Award Nomination in the subject heading by August 15th of each year (**Note: 2024 deadline extended to August 23rd). The Chair will reach out to the nominee with directions for how to apply for the Service Award. Each nominator may nominate up to three individuals or groups. The nominator need not be the person writing the letter of support (see below). Completed applications should be submitted by August 15 of each year (Note: 2024 deadline extended to August 23rd). The external Letter of Support (see below) should be submitted by September 1 at the latest.  Continue reading for application instructions.

Application packages should include:

1. External Letter of Support: A single letter of support (no more than 2 pages) including biographical information (name, title, organization) of the person or group and a description of the activities supporting the spirit of the Service Award. The letter must describe the nature of impact the person or group has had on diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in the field. It is the responsibility of the nominee to request a letter writer. The letter of support should be written by someone familiar with the activities of the nominee and may be e-mailed separately or included in the application package (See below).
2. Biosketch of the nominee(s): A CV (maximum length of CV: 3 pages) for the individual or if in a group, CVs for each person in the group.
3. Narrative statement, written by the nominee(s): A one-page, single-spaced statement that explains the history of activity(ies) or the commitment of the nominee, a description of the activity(ies) (target audience, goals, location, resources contributed), how often and length of time the activity takes place, and the effectiveness of the activity (how outcomes or effectiveness is measured). If a group is being nominated, please include information of how each person is involved and their contributions to the activity(ies). Group narrative statements may be extended to up to 3 pages to allow for explanation of level of involvement for each member.
4. Optional supplementary material: any material you believe clarifies the activities of the nominee(s) relevant to this award (maximum 3 pages). This may also include, for example, external links, videos, and images.
5. Please send all application materials in a single document (PDF preferred) to the Chair of the BPC (chair.bpc@sicb.org) with Your Name_Service Award Application in the subject heading. Applications may or may not include the letter of support. The external letter of support may be e-mailed separately or included in the application package.

If you have questions concerning the preparation and submission of these materials or need clarification about the award, please do not hesitate to send an email to BPC Chair at chair.bpc@sicb.org.