Early Career Scholar Award

The Early Career Scholar Award is awarded to an outstanding HRD scholar in the early stages of his/her career who has made identifiable and significant contributions in scholarly research to the field of HRD.

Eligibility

Any current member of the Academy of Human Resource Development who is in the early stages of his or her career in human resource development, i.e., seven years or less after being granted his or her highest earned academic degree, is eligible to receive this award. The setting in which the nominee has made the scholarly contributions can include academia, government, nonprofit, or business/industry.

Nominations, Application Requirements, and Criteria

Only members of the Academy can submit nominations. Self-nominations are welcome. Applications must be received on or before November 1 of the year preceding the presentation of the award. The Early Career Scholar Award Committee will not accept any application that is incomplete. To be complete, applications must include:

1. A letter of nomination that includes

• Nominee information including name, job title/organization, address, city/state/zip, telephone number, and email address.
• The nominator’s job title/organization, address, city/state/zip, telephone number, and email address.
• A statement of worthiness of the nominee that specifically addresses the criteria listed below. The letter should be at least two but no more than five pages long.

2. A current vita of the nominee.

3. A portfolio of materials that illustrate the contributions of the nominee. The portfolio should contain up to but not more than three reprints representative of the nominee’s scholarly contribution. The portfolio may also include up to but no more than three supporting letters that speak to the quality of work of the nominee and the degree to which that work is held in high esteem by the nominee’s peers.

Applications will be evaluated by the Committee according to the following three general criteria:

Significance of Work

Significant scholarly contributions can take the form of conceptual, theoretical, or empirical developments that have had or have shown the potential to have substantial influence on HRD knowledge and practice. Applications should therefore strive to address the following questions:

• To what extent do the scholarly contributions made by the applicant address an important problem, process, or issue in the science or practice of HRD?
• How does the work advance scientific or practical knowledge about the problem, process, or issue?
• What has been the effect of the applicant’s work on the theories, concepts, processes, or techniques that drive the profession of HRD?
• To what extent has or what is the likelihood that the applicant’s work will stimulate further inquiry or give direction to future research that leads to important, new knowledge in HRD?

Productivity

Productivity includes not only the number of scholarly contributions (e.g., publications) but also the quality of those contributions. Applications should therefore strive to address the following questions:

• To what extent has the applicant been productive in terms of both quantity and quality of scholarly contributions?
• What awards or honors granted by professional organizations, educational institutions, media sources, or other entities has the applicant received that demonstrate the importance of the scholarly contributions to the profession of HRD?

Innovativeness

The innovativeness of scholarly contributions is often critical for advancing the science and practice of the HRD profession. Therefore, applications should endeavor to address the following questions:

• To what extent does the work of the applicant represent or employ novel theories, concepts, approaches, or methods?
• Does the work challenge existing paradigms or develop new theories, models, conceptual frameworks, methods, or approaches?
• Have the scholarly contributions of the applicant led to the adoption of new theories, models, concepts, practices, or services?

Deadlines

• Nominations must be sent to the AHRD Office by November 1. Please ensure that your nomination clearly states that it is being made for the Early Career Scholar Award.
• Committee decisions must be forwarded to the Awards Program Chair and the AHRD Office by February 1 of the year in which the award will be given.

Award Winners

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