There are no holdover nominations for Union awards, medals, and prizes. For Section awards and lectures, nominations can be held over for no more than one year after the original date of submission. A holdover nomination is one that is competitive and can be carried over to the next award cycle without updates. Updates to holdover nominations are recommended.

In addition to a nominator, a nomination package can only have one co-nominator and three supporters.

Two or more nominations for a single candidate for a given award will NOT be considered. If separate packages are received, the nominators will be asked to combine them.

Posthumous nominations are not allowed but will be considered if the nomination was submitted when the nominee was still alive.

Honors selected nominees are required to disclose allegations or findings of misconduct.

Purpose

Concomitant with the AGU’s new strategic plan, we seek to create a shared vision of AGU’s future within a vibrant, worldwide Earth and space sciences community.

All AGU volunteers are asked to comply with the Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy and process. The COI Policy outlined below provides further details for all stakeholders involved in the Honors Program. The purpose of the AGU Conflict of Interest Policy is to avert, to the extent possible, biasing circumstances, or the appearance of biasing circumstances, in the selection of AGU honorees.

This policy applies to all volunteer leaders, nominators, supporters, and selection committees of Union medals, awards, and prizes, Fellows, section award and lecture selection committees as well as donors and co-sponsors of any award. It guides the handling of conflicts of interest for award committees in the selection of the awardees; therefore, promoting the values of equality and inclusiveness, excellence, and integrity in everything we do.

Nominee Eligibility

The following offices, volunteer positions, and relationships are not eligible for the following AGU honors.

1. AGU President; President-elect; Council Leadership Team; Honors & Recognition Committee members, and full-time AGU staff are not eligible to be nominated for any AGU honor during their term of service.

2. Members of a selection committee are not eligible to be nominated for the award they are serving on the committee during their term of service.

3. Elected section officers (president, president-elect, and secretaries) are not eligible to be nominated for awards and lectures given by their respective section during their term of service.

4. Section past presidents are not eligible to be nominated for awards and lectures given by their respective section until one year after completion of their term as section president.

5. Section presidents and presidents-elects are not eligible to be candidates for Fellow.

6. Section Fellows Committee members are not eligible to be candidates for consideration by their respective section. However, they can be reviewed for consideration by other sections.

7. Donors and co-sponsor(s) are not eligible to be candidates for their respective honor.

8. All full-time staff of an organization that co-sponsors an award, medal, prize or lecture is not eligible to be a candidate for the respective honor.

Who can participate in the Nomination Process

AGU policy on the relationship to a nominee is applicable to committee members, nominators, and supporters.

1. The following relationships need to be acknowledged and communicated to selection committees, but do not disqualify the individual from participating in the nomination or committee review process:

a. Candidate’s current dean, departmental chair, supervisor, supervisee, laboratory director, an individual with whom one has a current business or financial relationship (e.g., business partner, employer, employee)

b. Research collaborator or co-author within the last three years

c. An individual working at the same institution or having accepted a position at the same institution.

2. The following offices and relationships cannot participate in the nomination process for candidates based on the following guidelines:

a. AGU President, AGU President-elect, H&R Committee members, CLT, full-time AGU staff.

b. Members of a selection committee are not eligible to serve as a nominator or supporter for the award that they are serving on the committee for.

c. Section presidents and presidents-elect cannot nominate or support Fellows candidates during their term of service.

d. Section presidents and presidents-elect cannot nominate or support candidates for awards and lectures given by their respective section during their term of service.

e. Family members, spouses, or partners

f. Mentor-mentee relationships established during graduate studies or postdoc fellowships:

i. A previous graduate (Masters or PhD) and/or postdoctoral advisor, or postdoctoral fellow may not write a nomination letter but may write a supporting letter after five years of terminating their formal relationship with the nominee beginning on 1 January after the year the formal relationship was terminated. The only exception to this policy is that this restriction does not apply to early-career awards from sections and the Science for Solutions Award.

ii. In addition, a former doctoral or graduate student, or a former postdoctoral fellow may not write a nomination letter for a former advisor but may write a supporting letter after five years of terminating their relationship with the nominee beginning on 1 January after the year the relationship was terminated. The only exception to this policy is that this restriction does not apply to early career awards from sections.

iii. Chairs and members of award selection committees are conflicted with the above-mentioned mentor-mentee relationships and should recuse themselves from participating in the deliberation, evaluation and voting process for that nominee.

3. Selection Committee Conflicts.

a. Chairs of selection committees who are supervisors of nominees are conflicted from participating in the review and selection process.

b. Section presidents are not eligible to serve as an active member of the selection committee for any award that is given by their respective section. We understand that as section president they are ex officio members of all section committees; however, they should not actively participate or vote.

c. Members of canvassing committees are not eligible to serve as a member of an award selection committee that they canvassed for.

d. Members of canvassing committees tasked with soliciting Fellows nominations are ineligible to serve on the Union Fellows Committee.

e. Members of selection committees may for other reasons determine that they have conflicts or potential conflicts that require elimination from service and then act on that determination if they believe that service could affect the fairness of the selection process.

1. Those Ineligible for Awards.

The following offices, volunteer positions, and relationships are not eligible for the following AGU honors.

a. For all AGU honors

i. AGU President
ii. AGU President-elect
iii. Council Leadership Team (CLT) members
iv. Honors and Recognition (H&R) Committee members
v. All full-time AGU staff

b. Medal, award, prize, and lecture committees

i. Committee members are ineligible to be candidates for their respective medal, award, or prize

c. Union and Section Fellows committees (for Fellows program only)

i. Union Fellows Committee members are ineligible to be Fellows candidates.
ii. Section presidents and president-elects are ineligible to be candidates for Fellow
iii. Section Fellows Committee members are ineligible to be candidates for consideration by their respective section. However, they can be reviewed for consideration by other sections
iv. Elected section officers (presidents, president-elects and secretaries) are ineligible to be nominated for their respective section honor(s) during their term of service
v. Section past presidents are ineligible to be nominated for their respective section honors for one year after completion of their term as section president

d. Donors and co-sponsor(s)

i. Donors and co-sponsor(s) are ineligible to be candidates for their respective medal, award, or prize.

ii. All full-time staff of an organization that co-sponsors an award, medal or prize is ineligible to be a candidate for the respective honor.

2. On the Relationship to an Award Nominee.

AGU policy on the relationship to a nominee is applicable to committee members, nominators, and supporters.

a. The following relationships need to be acknowledged and communicated to selection committees, but do not disqualify the individual from participating in the nomination or committee review process:

i. Candidate’s current dean, departmental chair, supervisor, supervisee, laboratory director, an individual with whom one has a current business or financial relationship (e.g., business partner, employer, employee)

ii. Research collaborator or co-author within the last three years

iii. An individual working at the same institution or having accepted a position at the same institution

b. The following offices and relationships are nomination disqualifiers:

i. AGU President, AGU President-elect, H&R Committee, CLT, full-time AGU staff, cannot nominate or write support letters for candidates

ii. Nominators or supporters for a specific honor, lecture, program, or fellowship should not be on the selection committee for that honor

iii. FOR FELLOWS PROGRAM ONLY: In addition to the individuals listed above, Section Presidents and President-elects cannot nominate or support Fellows candidates

iv. Family members, spouses or partners

v. Mentor-mentee relationships established during graduate studies or postdoc fellowships

• A previous graduate (Masters or PhD) and/or postdoctoral advisor, or postdoctoral fellow may not write a nomination letter but may write a supporting letter after five years of terminating their formal relationship with the nominee beginning on 1 January after the year the formal relationship was terminated. The only exception to this policy is that this restriction does not apply to early-career awards from sections and the Science for Solutions Award
• In addition, a former doctoral or graduate student, or a former postdoctoral fellow may not write a nomination letter for a former advisor but may write a supporting letter after five years of terminating their relationship with the nominee beginning on 1 January after the year the relationship was terminated. The only exception to this policy is that this restriction does not apply to early career awards from sections.
• Termination of a relationship is defined as follows: nominee no longer being paid by supporter or no longer supported under the same grant or contract.

1. Conflict of interest standards and implementation procedures for award committee service should be widely publicized and readily accessible to AGU members.

2. The AGU president and/or other appointing members of Union and section award selection committees will make potential members aware of these ethical standards and the implementation procedures

3. Committee members with a conflict of interest will inform the chair of the “award” selection committee of any potential conflicts before the nominations are reviewed.

4. Because award selection committees differ in size and number of nominations considered, the chair of the award selection committees, in consultation with the members, will determine whether the conflict is of significant magnitude to require any members to refrain either from voting, from participating in the deliberation process, or from the entire selection procedure.

5. If vacancies occur on the selection committees due to withdrawal of members from service as a result of a conflict of interest during their term, those vacancies should be filled promptly, the AGU president or other appointing members should be prepared to appoint alternates if a vacancy arises due to a conflict.

6. Any award selection committee chair or member with questions or ambiguous circumstances should seek advice on this policy and its implementation. The process for discussion is to notify the Honors staff team, including the Director and Vice President. They will include the following people, if needed.

a. Honors & Recognition Committee Chair
b. Executive Vice President, Strategic Leadership and Global Outreach and the Vice President, Leadership and Governance
c. AGU President-elect
d. Council Leadership Team

7. If a committee member knowingly or unintentionally fails to disclose a conflict of interest and participates in the consummated selection process, he or she will not be permitted to participate in any award selection committee for a period of two years.

The Honors & Recognition Committee will review the Conflict of Interest Policy every three years and revisions will be forwarded to the Council Leadership Team for approval.

AGU offers a variety of Section honors and Union awards, medals and prizes that recognize a current student, recent graduate, post-doc, early-career and middle-career individuals from the Earth and space sciences community. Definitions for AGU’s career stages can be viewed here: Honors Career Stage Definitions. For these honors, allowances to the career stage eligibility requirement can be considered based on the following circumstances:

• Childbirth
• Adoption
• Personal serious illness
• Primary caregiver of a person with a serious health condition.
• Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, child, or parent of the employee is engaged in military service (or has been notified of an impending call or order to cover active duty).
• Nominees whose work conditions have been impacted COVID.
• Allowances for other extenuating circumstances (i.e., economic hardship, other career breaks, etc.) can also be considered.

• Student: currently enrolled in an institution.
• Recent graduate or post doc: recent graduate; is five years post PhD or highest equivalent terminal degree.
• Early career: within 10 years of receiving their PhD or highest equivalent terminal degree.
• Middle career: within 20 years of receiving their PhD or highest equivalent terminal degree.
• Senior/Experienced scientist: experienced and an established leader in their field.

This policy is established in order to provide for an orderly, coordinated, and informed practice of proposing and naming new AGU Section Awards and Union honors, in such a manner as to ensure the appropriate recognition of the traditions and values of AGU and the alignment with the overall mission and goals of the Honors Program.

AGU recognizes the desire to name a new AGU honor after a prominent individual. Persons may be honored with naming opportunities ONLY after their death. For memorial naming, a three-year waiting period shall be observed after the death of the individual before considering his or her name for such distinction.

Naming new awards for an individual is an honor that forges a link between the individual and the organization; therefore, careful considerations must be given to ensure that the individuals whose names are chosen for these AGU honors are recognized to have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of geophysical sciences, to serving the community, or to the public’s understanding of science.

The name proposed for this new honor should not overlap or duplicate with any existing awards with the same or closely related focus of any institution, organization or entity operating on a national or global level, so as not to confuse the scope of the existing awards or diminish their prestige.

• The individual for which the proposed honor will be named must be deceased for a minimum of one year before the proposal is submitted for consideration.
• The individual for which the proposed honor will be named must be considered an acknowledged contributor to the Earth and space science community.
• Where practical, the proposed name for the honor should not overlap or duplicate any existing awards with the same or closely related focus at any other institution, organization or entity operating on a national or global level, so as not to confuse the scope of the existing awards or diminish their prestige.

The following process pertains to the naming of honors within the Union Medals, Awards, and Prizes portfolio and Section Awards and Lectures.

1. Request to name honor after deceased individual comes in to AGU staff/Honors and Recognition Committee.
2. Deceased member’s name sent to research firm for vetting to ensure alignment with AGU’s Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy.
   1. The firm will provide research results about the deceased individual, such as if they have been subject to a filed allegation, complaint, investigation, sanction or other legal, civil or institutional proceeding, where there was a finding of misconduct.
   2. The research firm will achieve this via a thorough review of public records, including press releases, news articles, etc. from time of degree conferral up until the individual’s death.
3. Research findings will be shared with AGU Ethics Department and AGU Affiliation, Engagement, and Membership (AEM) staff for review.
4. Internal staff review
   1. Assuming no issues, proposal, including research findings, is shared with the Honors and Recognition Committee for provisional approval.
      1. Assuming the Honors and Recognition Committee approves, full proposal, and accompanying background materials, moves forward to Council for approval.
      2. Assuming Council approves, full proposal, and accompanying background materials, moves forward to AGU Board of Directors for approval.
      3. Assuming Board approval, Honor moves forward for implementation in next Honors cycle.
   2. If the research uncovers concerns, the Ethics Department will determine whether or not the proposal should move forward to the Honors and Recognition Committee
      1. If yes, proposal, including research findings, shared with Honors and Recognition Committee for provisional approval. Ethics Department will include a summary of why they decided to advance the proposal.
         1. Assuming no issues, full proposal, and accompanying background materials, moves forward to Council for approval.
         2. Assuming the Council approves, full proposal, and accompanying background materials, moves forward to AGU Board of Directors for approval.
         3. Assuming Board approval, Honor moves forward for implementation in next Honors cycle.
      2. If no, due to flagrant violations of AGU’s Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy, the proposal is returned with a summary of the research findings and recommended next steps (i.e., provide a different memorial name/opt to use a non-memorial name).

If any individual for which an honor has been named is found to have ever been in violation of AGU’s Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy, pending formal review by the AGU Ethics Committee, the individual's name may be removed from the honor. Violations of AGU’s Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy can be reported to AGU by emailing [email protected]. The Ethics Committee will evaluate the claims and, if substantiated, determine an appropriate course of action, including (but not limited to) removal of the individual’s name from the honor.