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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399682
Research Project: Disease Management in Small Fruit and Nursery Crops Based on Knowledge of Pathogen Diversity, Biology, and Environmental Effects

Location: Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit

Title: A call to APS membership for equal representation in nominations for APS Awards

Author
item Weiland, Gerald - Jerry
item EVERHART, SYDNEY - University Of Connecticut
item SMART, CHRISTINE - Cornell University
item NEWBOLD, CHELSEA - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Phytopathology News
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/11/2022
Publication Date: 10/15/2022
Citation: Weiland, J.E., Everhart, S., Smart, C.D., Newbold, C. 2022. A call to APS membership for equal representation in nominations for APS Awards. Phytopathology News. 56(10):2-4.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The membership of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) has become more diverse since its founding in 1908 and the society has a history of celebrating diversity. Diversity includes not only gender and race, but also age, job affiliation, cultural and educational background, and other factors. Over the last six years, the society has made significant strides in improving the representation of women as invited speakers for the annual meetings. However, there is another area where representation is lagging, and that is in the APS awards. In 2018, the Awards and Honors Committee called for diversity in the awards process. They noted that several early and mid-career awards rarely receive nominations at all. Additionally, “Women, in particular, are underrepresented across all award categories, both as nominees and as nominators”. The same issue appears to still be with us today and may also be true for other minorities. Relatively few women or people of color have received awards targeted for nonstudent society members. The Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is therefore issuing a challenge for the general APS membership to increase representation in awards targeted towards early- to late-career (nonstudent) members.