Awards

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 We at the American Association of Veterinary Anatomists plan to expand our services to members. The following describes the award programs aimed at recognizing AAVA members. One of these programs will help mitigate the shortage of qualified anatomists and improve Veterinary Education.

•  AAVA Rising Anatomist Visiting Award: 

This particular award program provides a means to advance early career AAVA members by providing anatomy teaching support in a different institution than their home. Simultaneously, it provides a teaching aid to an institution needing temporary support due to a shortage of teaching personnel. This program is a bipartite application process. The early career AAVA applicant is typically a graduate student in the course of their work toward a master's or Ph.D. program in anatomy. 

The second part of the application should be submitted by an institution interested in hosting an early career AAVA member .

The early career applicant should commit and demonstrate teaching potential and be willing and able to collaborate with and support anatomy teaching in other institutions. The candidate should have been an AAVA member for at least one full calendar year before application .The institution applicant should commit to and demonstrate stipend support to the early career   applicant based on local satisfaction criteria. The financial support should last for one or two semesters, based on a mutually agreed-upon set time. 

The AAVA will match the early career applicant and institution.

 Individual and institutional applications 

Institutional applicant ;

• Letter of intent, including 
•  Reason for the need for teaching support
•  Commitment to financial support, including the possibility of travel support
•  Desired hosting period
•  Brief account of the local environment and its potential benefits to the potential career advancement of the early career applicant

Interested applicant should highlight their eligibility criteria in the letter of intent. 

The hosting institution should highlight their need for temporary teaching aid. The AAVA will match individual applicants to institutions and initiate the visit logistics. 

The AAVA executive committee should receive your application materials by June 15th, 2024.

Please send them to khershberger@wisc.edu with the subject heading “AAVA Rising Anatomist Visiting Award – Individual applicant OR Institutional applicant.

• AAVA Fellow Status Award:

 The AAVA fellow status recognizes the contribution of a distinguished AAVA member to anatomical sciences education and research. It highlights the accomplishments of a faculty member in anatomical sciences education and in advancing knowledge through scholarship. The AAVA Fellow Status will be awarded to a successful member who has maintained uninterrupted membership for more than ten years. 

Criteria: 

To submit nominations, the successful candidate must have been a current AAVA member for more than ten years.

 Nominees must be full-time faculty at fully accredited colleges or universities.

 Self-nomination is accepted. 

AAVA Involvement:

 Active membership, participation, and engagement in AAVA activities. Teaching Excellence: Demonstrated exceptional teaching skills in anatomical sciences.  Evidence of teaching awards or outstanding teaching evaluations. Research Contribution and Scholarly Achievements: Candidates will have significantly contributed to the anatomical sciences through primary anatomical studies or pedagogical research.

 Achievements will include the publication of scholarly works that advance anatomical knowledge or teaching.

 Applications will be submitted to AAVA for matching Award: 

The AAVA will provide travel support to the early career applicant for up to $500. 

The AAVA also encourages and recommends that the hosting institution pay for the individual applicant's travel support if possible.

 Only one applicant per institution will be allowed, except if more applicants than institutions have applied for the award. Required Application materials:

 Individual Applicant:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of intent, including
• Record of didactic and laboratory teaching
• Brief account of career intentions
• Brief account of their current research project
•  Three recommendation letters, including one from a current advisor if applicable. The advisor should indicate their agreement for the candidate to join the program.

Award: $100 will be awarded to the AAVA fellow and they will be recognized during the AAVA conference.

Required application materials:

•  Curriculum Vitae
•  Letter of intent, including
•  Record of didactic and laboratory teaching
•  Brief account of teaching effectiveness Brief account of research accomplishment
•  At least three representative publications’ titles.

 Interested applicant should highlight their eligibility criteria in the letter of intent.

 The AAVA executive committee should receive your application materials by June 15th, 2024. Please send them to khershberger@wisc.edu.AAVA

Previous  winner  :

2024        Mahmoud Mansour         Auburn State University

• Distinguished Retiree Award:

The distinguished retiree status recognizes a retired faculty who made significant contributions to anatomical sciences education and scholarship. Self-nomination is accepted.

Criteria:

The successful candidate should have made significant and lasting contributions to anatomical sciences education and scholarship over their career.

The successful candidate must have been an AAVA member for over fifteen years.

AAVA Legacy: Contributed to and supported AAVA initiatives throughout their career.

Award: The AAVA will provide $100 and be recognized during the AAVA conference.

 Required Application materials:

•  Curriculum Vitae
•  Letter of intent, including
•  Record of didactic and laboratory teaching
•  Brief account of teaching effectiveness
•  Brief account of research accomplishment
•  At least one supporting letter from a former mentee or student Interested applicant should highlight their eligibility criteria in the letter of intent. 

The AAVA executive committee should receive your application materials by June 1st, 2024. 

Please send them to khershberger@wisc.edu with the subject heading “AAVA Distinguished Retiree Award.

Previous Winner 

2024  Thomas Caceci   Virginia Tech

• AAVA Technical Staff Excellence Award:

This award recognizes a technician or instructional support staff for their exceptional support of anatomical sciences education. To submit nominations, the successful candidate must have been a current member for over three years and supporting anatomy teaching for more than five years.

 Nominees must be full-time staff at fully accredited colleges or universities. 

Self nominations accepted with in-house anatomy faculty support.

Criteria:

The successful candidate should have significantly supported anatomical sciences education in their own institution and maybe others. 

Collaboration:

 Collaborated effectively with faculty, students, and colleagues at their institution and maybe across institutions or through the AAVA.

Professional Development:

 Demonstrated commitment to continuous professional development and supporting the continuous learning of others through collaboration.

Award:

The AAVA will provide $100 and be recognized during the AAVA conference.

 Required Application materials :

• Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of intent, including
• Record of teaching laboratory support
• Brief account of dissection experience
• Brief account of exceptional laboratory support
• At least one supporting letter from an anatomy faculty member in their own institution 
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Interested applicant should highlight their eligibility criteria in the letter of intent. The AAVA executive committee should receive your application materials by June 15th, 2024. Please send them to khershberger@wisc.edu with the subject heading “AAVA Technical Staff Excellence Award. ”AAVA Involvement: Active membership, participation, and engagement in AAVA activities.

All award recipients will receive a plaque distributed during the AAVA meeting

Previous Winner :

 2024                Abby Brown               Minnesota State University