From AERA President, Vivian Gasden: I am writing to ask your help in urging members of your SIG to submit nominations for the 2017 AERA awards. As you know, the annual AERA awards are our public acknowledgement and honoring of the many contributions that our members make to research, scholarship, and practice; to the association; and to building our field. They are also an opportunity for our members to contribute to the awards process and decision making. Please note that all AERA-wide award nominations are currently due by January 12, 2017. In the interest of providing additional time for nominations, we are extending the deadline to January 20, 2017. Please note the descriptions below for the awards.

• Early Career Award – Established to honor an individual in the early stages of his or her career no later than 10 years after receipt of the doctoral degree, this award can be granted for study in any field of educational inquiry.
• Exemplary Contributions to Practice-Engaged Research Award – This award is presented to an education research scholar or scholars in recognition of collaborative project(s) between researchers and practitioners that have had sustained and observable effects on contexts of practice.
• E.F. Lindquist Award – In recognition of outstanding applied or theoretical research in the field of testing and measurement, the award acknowledges a body of research of an empirical, theoretical, or integrative nature rather than a single study. Particular emphasis will be given to research that has advanced the companion goals of greater understanding and improved use of testing and measurement techniques. This award is co-sponsored by The American College Testing Program (ACT). The winner of this award is invited to give the E.F. Lindquist Award Lecture at the 2018 Annual Meeting in New York, NY. An article emanating from the lecture will be considered for publication in the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics.
• Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award – This is the premier acknowledgment of outstanding achievement and success in education research. The purpose of the award is to publicize, motivate, encourage, and suggest models for education research at its best. Each year, nominations are invited from AERA members who wish to honor a meritorious colleague, one who is considered by other education researchers to stand out in the profession by meeting the very highest of professional standards of achievement.
• Distinguished Contribution to Gender Equity in Education Research Award – Established in 2006, the Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research Award recognizes individuals within AERA for distinguished research, professional practice, and activities that advance public understanding of gender and/ or sexuality at any level in the education community. This award will be presented to an individual whose professional career has been devoted in substantial part to the study of gender and/or sexuality in education, and who has significantly advanced the field through extraordinary leadership, scholarship, or professional practice.
• Social Justice in Education Award–Established in 2004, the AERA Social Justice in Education Award honors an individual who has advanced social justice through education research and exemplified the goal of linking education research to social justice.
• Distinguished Public Service Award–This award is granted annually in recognition of an individual who has worked to enact or implement policies that are well grounded in education research, or who has been at the forefront of efforts to increase recognition and support for education research.
• Scholars of Color in Education Award: These awards are intended to recognize (a) scholars at different stages in their careers who have made significant contributions to the understanding of issues that disproportionately affect minor­ity populations, and (b) minority scholars who have made a sig­nificant contribution to education research and development.
  • Distinguished Career Contribution– Presented to a senior-level scholar, usually 20 years or more after his or her receipt of the doctoral degree.
  • Mid-Career Contribution – Presented to a scholar who is beyond the first level of professional appointment and for whom at least 10 years have passed since receipt of the doctoral degree.
  • Early Career Contribution– Presented to a scholar who is within the first ten (10) years of his or her career after receipt of the doctoral degree.
• Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research Award–This award is presented to an individual in the media who has demonstrated excellence in raising awareness, knowledge, and understanding of education research.
• Outstanding Public Communication of Education Research Award – This award is presented to honor scholars who are exemplary in their capacity to communicate the importance of education research to the broad public, including education communities.