DEADLINE FOR ALL AWARD NOMINATIONS IS JUNE 1, 2002

Awards are presented by the following directorates in APA: Practice, International Affairs, Science, Education, and Public Interest and by the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students.

Some of the benefits award winners receive include

• An honorarium of $1,000
• The opportunity to present an invited address at the 2003 APA Convention in Toronto, Canada
• A waiver of 2003 convention registration fees
• Reimbursement of up to $1,000 in expenses related to attendance at the 2003 convention.

APA Practice Awards

APA's Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) seeks nominations for its 2003 Distinguished Professional Contributions awards

• The APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research.
• The APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent or Institutional Practice in the Private Sector.
• The APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Practice in the Public Sector.

The APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research. This award is given to a psychologist whose research has led to important discoveries or developments in the field of applied psychology. To be eligible, this research should have led to innovative applications in an area of psychological practice, including but not limited to assessment, consultation, instruction, or intervention (either direct or indirect). Research involving the original development of procedures, methodologies, or technical skills that significantly improve the application of psychological knowledge and provide direct and immediate solutions to practical problem areas will be considered, as will research that has informed psychologists on how better to observe, define, predict, or control behavior. Original integration of existing theories or knowledge is also eligible for consideration.

The APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent or Institutional Practice in the Private Sector. This award recognizes outstanding service delivery by a licensed psychologist who is primarily engaged in the practice of psychology in a private sector setting. The award is intended to recognize outstanding practitioners in psychology. Nominations will be considered for psychologists working in any area of clinical specialization, health services provision, or consulting, and services provided to any patient population or professional clientele in an independent or institutional practice setting. Services provided to diverse client groups or patient populations, including but not limited to children/adolescents/adults/older adults; urban/rural/frontier populations; minority populations; and persons with serious mental illness, will be considered. Contributions can be judged distinguished by virtue of peer recognition, advancement of the public’s recognition of psychology as a profession, relevant professional association honors, or other meritorious accomplishments denoting excellence as a practitioner including advancement of the profession.

The APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Practice in the Public Sector. This award recognizes outstanding service delivery by a psychologist who is primarily engaged in the practice of psychology in a public sector setting (e.g., state hospital, military, veteran’s administration, etc.). The award is intended to recognize outstanding practitioners in psychology. Nominations will be considered for psychologists working in a wide variety of public sector settings. Services provided to diverse client groups or patient populations, including but not limited to children/adolescents/adults/older adults; urban/rural/frontier populations; minority populations; and persons with serious mental illness, will be considered. Contributions can be judged distinguished by virtue of peer recognition, advancement of the public’s recognition of psychology as a profession, relevant professional association honors, or other meritorious accomplishments denoting excellence as a practitioner including improvement of public service delivery systems or development of psychologically informed public policy.

For each award, nominators should provide:

• A detailed 75-word narrative statement regarding the nature of the contributions and focus of the nomination
• An up-to-date resume and bibliography
• Endorsements from other individuals or groups are encouraged
• Nominators of award winners will be responsible for preparing a 100-word award citation.

All nominees must have excellent overall personal and professional reputations. Nominees should not have received disciplinary action from a state board of examiners in psychology and must have no history of ethical violations at the state or national level.

Please send nomination materials for all categories to Jayne Lux, Practice Directorate, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002-4242, (202) 336-5881

APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Professional Contribution by a Graduate Student

The APA/APAGS Distinguished Graduate Student Award is awarded on an annual basis by the Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) to a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding practice and application of psychology. A qualified candidate must demonstrate exemplary performance in working with an underserved population in an applied setting OR have developed an innovative method for delivering health services to an underserved population. Nominees may have received their doctoral degree at the time of nomination provided that accomplishments for the award were achieved while a graduate student. Eligible candidates are encouraged to apply from all psychology sub-specialties (e.g. clinical, counseling, organization, school, health, etc) and can be self-nominated or nominated by a member of the American Psychological Association (APA). However, all self-nominations must be endorsed by a member of APA (i.e. faculty, supervisor) who serves the function of a nominator.

Application requirements

Each applicant must submit a:

• 1000 word or less summary of their work with an underserved population that must include a description of the student’s work with this population, the status of the underserved population and number served, nature of psychological services/work done, and its impact on addressing the needs of the identified population. In addition, nominees are expected to identify why the group they have worked with is considered underserved.
• CV
• Letter of support from a member of APA and in the instance of a self-nomination, verification that the endorser will serve the role and complete the functions of a nominator.

Upon receipt of the award, the nominator/endorser will be expected to prepare the text for the award citation, attend the APA Convention, serve as chair of the winner’s award address, introduce the award recipient, and prepare the written introduction for any APA publications wishing to publicize the award (Note: nominator/endorser will attend APA convention at his or her own expense).

Please send nomination materials to Jayne Lux, Practice Directorate, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, (202) 336-5881