Do you know of anyone who has given distinguished service to either the Australian Rangeland Society or to the rangelands in general?  If you do, how about nominating them for the position of Fellow of the Australian Rangeland Society.

The ARS Council would like to encourage members to nominate two (2) new Fellows in the manner set out in the following Guidelines (which are also available on the ARS website in the members section).

FELLOWS OF THE AUSTRALIAN RANGELAND SOCIETY

Background

The ARS Articles and Memorandum of Association (May 2006) note that:

Any person who has rendered or is rendering distinguished service to the Society or to the rangelands, may be appointed a Fellow of the Australian Rangeland Society by Council acting on the written nomination of not fewer than six members, submitted to council.

There are currently five Fellows, viz. Mr Gary Bastin, Dr Alan Wilson, Mrs Joan Gibbs, Dr Ken Hodgkinson and Dr Wal Whalley.

In November 2006, an Honours Review Group made a number of recommendations regarding the nature of the honour, frequency and number of awards, process of nomination, criteria for assessing nominations and the nature and benefits of the award.

This document (2010) serves to update and clarify the process of nomination, the criteria for awarding the honour of Fellow and the nature of the benefits, and to make this information more widely available to members of the Society.

Name

1.  The recipient of this award shall have rendered or is rendering distinguished service to the Society or have made a significant contribution to the betterment of the rangelands, its industries and communities., and be known as a ‘Fellow of the Australian Rangeland Society’.

Purpose

2.  The Award is intended to recognize significant contributions to the art, science or communication of rangeland management, and furtherance of the aims and functioning of the Australian Rangeland Society.

Determination

3.  Fellowships will be awarded, or not awarded, by Council on the merits of a written nomination (not exceeding 750 words) clearly setting out the contributions of the individual to the rangelands and/or rangeland management and the aims and functioning of the Society, together with a citation of not more than 150 words suitable for publication in the Society newsletter or on the website.  The nomination is to be supported by at least six financial members.

4.  To be eligible for nomination as a Fellow of the Australian Rangeland Society, the nominee must:

• be a current and financial member of the Society, and with a minimum of 10 years’ continuous membership
• be judged by peers to have made a sustained and significant contribution to improvement of the rangelands, its industries and communities, and/or the progress of the Society (see Criteria)

Conditions

5.  Availability of Fellowships and the processes to be publicised on the website and in Society publications as appropriate.

6.  Nominations may be submitted at any time but will only be considered by Council at a regular Council Meeting.  An award will be conferred at the next Biennial Conference of the ARS.

7.  One or more Fellowships can be awarded at an appropriate ceremony, but no more than 4% of Society members at any one time shall be Fellows.

8.  Nominations should include details of:

• History of sustained contributions and service to the organization, management or advancement of the Society
• Evidence of significant contributions to advancement of knowledge, management, conservation or sustainable use of Australia’s rangelands
• Evidence of wide recognition of effectiveness and impact
• Endorsement by at least six sponsors who have personal knowledge of the candidate and their achievements, and who are current and financial members of the ARS

9.  Successful nominees are required to submit an article outlining their achievements and key career learnings, suitable for publication in the Society’s Newsletter or on the Website, as appropriate, within six months of being awarded a Fellowship.

Miscellaneous

10. Interpretation of these guidelines is at the discretion of the governing Council in office at the time.

11. These guidelines may be altered by a majority vote at a special general meeting or an Annual General Meeting after notice has been duly served. 

Process:

a)    Any member of the Society may nominate a member for consideration as a fellow. The nomination to be supported by evidence of meeting the “criteria” and endorsed by at least two other members of the Society (Sponsors)

b)    The award is to be made by Council, who may appoint a special committee to consider nominations, if they so wish.  Nominations are to be assessed against the ‘criteria’.

c)    Nominations to be submitted to Council by the time of the AGM in a conference year. (In order that a decision can be made and fellows awarded at the conference. This means we only consider potential fellows every two years.)

Criteria:

a)    Length and nature of service to the Society.

b)    Contribution to the organization, management or advancement of the Society.

c)    Contribution to the advancement of knowledge, the science and art of using and managing Australia’s rangeland resources for all purposes commensurate with sustainable use of the rangelands

d)    Contribution to networking and mentoring within the Society and rangeland communities.

Nature and benefits of the Award:

A citation signed by the President with high standard printing and parchment suitable for mounting.

Recognition on the Society website and publication of citation in the Society newsletter.

Presentation of Fellowship and reading of citation at a principal event of the Society (e.g. conference)

Acknowledgement at principal events of the Society, e.g. Fellows and their partners to be seated at a prominent ‘Fellows table’ at conference dinners.

A 50% reduction in fees for attendance at Society functions.