Glossary/Explanation of Terms
“philosophy, principles, and practices of POD, such as generosity of spirit, kindness, compassion, sincerity, and civility”
The philosophy, principles, and practices that embody the best spirit of Bob Pierlioni, for whom the award was named, and also the POD Network at its best as an organization, are at the heart of the award, and recipients must score highly on this item to qualify the candidate for the award. While individuals may be more characterized by one or two items among the examples (and more not provided), no candidate who committee members know has demonstrated a pattern of their opposites (unkindness, lack of generosity, compassion, sincerity, civility, etc.) should be considered for the award.
“established history of serving the organization”
While there is no set target length of service to the organization, the SPOD award is the highest award made by the organization—akin to the lifetime achievement award of other organizations—and should represent a substantial time period (note: in the past, 10 years was chosen as an arbitrary target, but the current committee agrees that such a number might be too confining and artificial). Ideally, nominations should demonstrate that the service over time did not simply cluster at one moment but represented a consistency of commitment. The best nominations will not just claim that there was a history of service, but will substantiate the claim by showing what the service involved.
“sustained participation in POD above and beyond routine ways”
To qualify for the SPOD award, a nominee should have maintained participation over time (that is, not drop in and out of the organization over a period of time), and that involvement must go beyond the activity of typical involvement of a conference goer (e.g. conference presentations, publication in TIA, etc.) to include some significant activity, whether inside or outside of official leadership of committees or the organization (e.g. sustained participation could include organizational work for programs, contribution to charting the organization’s history, etc.). The best nominations will not just claim that there was a history of sustained participation above and beyond routine, but will substantiate the claim by showing what that participation involved, and perhaps characterizing the nature of the participation.
“innovative leadership”
There are many ways to participate in leadership in the organization. Though one prominent way is through committee service and leadership, including Core participation and service on the Executive Committee, one need not have been a positional leader to qualify. The strongest nominations will characterize the nature of the leadership and l substantiate the claim by showing what that leadership involved.
“substantial contributions to the profession”
While one’s contributions to the profession of faculty, instructional, and organizational development may have been primarily linked to the POD Network, they need not have been. Successful candidates are as likely to have contributed in other venues, nationally and internationally, and to have published and/or presented and/or facilitated professional work widely. The strongest nominations will characterize the nature of the contributions and substantiate the claim by enumerating or providing examples of the contributions and possibly also characterizing or assessing what makes them substantial.
