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Commission on Food, Environment, & Renewable Resources (CFERR)

Jean Ann Fischer Early Career Impact Award

The Board on Health and Human Sciences Jean Ann Fischer Early Career Impact Award recognizes an outstanding early-career faculty member who is making a meaningful impact on a significant issue within the health and human sciences. The award celebrates emerging leaders whose innovative work demonstrates excellence across teaching, research, outreach, extension, practice, and/or service and advances the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities.

Named in honor of Jean Ann Fischer, this award recognizes faculty whose collaborative, evidence-based work has already demonstrated measurable impact early in their academic careers while highlighting their potential for continued leadership in the health and human sciences.

Eligibility and Nominations

Faculty members at BHHS member institutions are eligible if they are pre-tenure or within seven years of their initial faculty appointment and within seven years of earning their terminal degree. Both tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty are eligible.

Each BHHS member institution may submit one nominee annually. Nominees should demonstrate outstanding contributions to addressing an important issue in the health and human sciences through innovative, collaborative, and impactful work. The award will be presented at the BHHS Annual Spring Meeting, and the recipient is expected to attend and briefly address the membership.

Procedure

Each BHHS member institution shall determine its own internal process for selecting its nominee. Institutions may nominate only one candidate for the Jean Ann Fischer Early Career Impact Award each year.

Nomination materials must be submitted electronically to bhhs@aplu.org as a single PDF and include:

  1. A nomination letter describing the nominee’s qualifications and impact.
  2. A 2–3 page impact statement prepared by the nominee addressing:

    • Describe the issue you are addressing in the Health and Human Sciences.
    • What were and are your goals and objectives?
    • Who have you engaged to support this work?
    • Describe the methods and procedures you used.
    • What products or deliverables emerged?
    • How was it integrated across your work and/or the work of others?
    • Outcomes or results (include example(s) of impact).
  3. The nominee’s current curriculum vitae.

A BHHS review panel will evaluate nominations based on the significance of the issue addressed, clarity of goals, engagement and collaboration, quality of methods, relevance of products or deliverables, integration across the nominee’s work, and demonstrated outcomes and impact. The review panel will recommend a recipient to the BHHS Board of Directors.

Applications for 2026 BHHS Awards will be accepted August 1, 2026, through October 1, 2026. Awardees will be recognized at the BHHS Spring Meeting, March 2-4, 2027, in Tallahassee, FL.