Society Operating Guidelines

Section 6.14: Technical and Professional Recognition Committee Operating Procedures

I. Purpose and Responsibilities

The Technical and Professional Recognition Committee advances the occupational safety and health (OSH) profession through the recognition of model OSH professionals.

II. Committee Membership

• The president-elect shall appoint committee members as specified in the ASSP bylaws.
• The committee shall not exceed seven members.
• Not less than three committee members shall have received the Honor of Fellow.
• Committee members serve a three-year term and may not be reappointed. Appointments are structured to allow for staggered terms.
• The term of the chair is one year, renewable for a maximum of three consecutive years. An individual must be an ASSP Fellow to be eligible for the position of committee chair.
• Fellow and Safety Professional of the Year petitions from members of the Technical and Professional Recognition Committee will not be considered while they are members of the committee.
• It is preferred that at least one committee member is from the emerging safety professionals within the Society to assure long-term continuity of the Committee thus giving them representation and a voice in the process.

III. Committee Operations

A. Meetings

• Schedule: Meetings will be scheduled as necessary and  will be conducted virtually.
  • The committee shall meet at least once to complete the review petitions and propose award nominees to the Society Board of Directors.
  • A committee member with advance knowledge of their inability to attend the petition evaluation meeting will submit written evaluations of the petitions to the chair in time for use at the meeting. The chair will use this input to cast the absent member's vote to determine the final outcome of petition evaluations.
• Quorum and voting: A quorum exists when at least one-half of the members of the committee are present at a meeting, one of whom must be the committee chair. If a quorum is present, a majority vote of members present shall be decisive when a vote it taken.
• Committee Business: The committee may conduct official business at virtual meetings or by other means such as electronic mail.
• Minutes: Minutes will be prepared for each committee meeting.

B. Budgeting and Finance

The committee operates within the Society budget.

Addendum I: Specific Committee Actions

The scope of the TPRC is to oversee administration for the Honor of Fellow and Safety Professional of the Year Other awards may be added as directed by the Board of Directors. The committee is responsible for the evaluation of all petitions for the Honor of Fellow and for recommending to the Board of Directors those professional members who qualify for that honor. The committee also evaluates all petitions of the candidates for the Society Safety Professional of the Year and makes the final determination.

A petition for a Society-level award cannot be developed, sponsored or supported in writing by a TPRC member, member of the Board of Directors, or ASSP staff. Current TPRC members and Board members may not be nominated for any of these awards. Petitioners may only apply for one Society-level award category each year.

Actions of the TPRC are confidential. Only TPRC members and the staff liaison(s) can be present during the evaluation/discussion(s).

A. Fellows

The committee will evaluate all petitions for the Honor of Fellow and propose approval of the selected petition(s) to the board of directors. Furthermore, the committee chair will respond to each petitioner regarding the committee's evaluation of their petition.

A majority of affirmative votes are needed for proposal of a petitioner/nominee for Fellow.

TPRC minutes shall include a record, by nominee name, of the approved petitions acted on by the committee and the number of petitions considered. The minutes shall not contain the actual vote totals on each Fellow petition. The number of votes for approval of each petition will be announced to the committee after the written, confidential vote is taken. In the case of a tie vote on any petition, the petition will be automatically reconsidered.

The senior vice president will present the committee’s proposal(s) on nominees for Fellow to the Board of Directors.

The ASSP president will notify successful Fellow candidates of the board’s actions.

ASSP professional staff will notify unsuccessful Fellow nominees and their petition coordinators.

B. Safety Professionals of the Year

The committee will evaluate all petitions for Safety Professionals of the Year and inform the board of directors of selected petition(s). Furthermore, the committee chair will let the petitioner know whether their petition will be moving forward.

A majority of affirmative votes are needed for proposal of a petitioner/nominee for SPY.

TPRC minutes shall include a record, by nominee name, of the approved petitions acted on by the committee and the number of petitions considered. The minutes shall not contain the actual vote totals on each SPY petition. The number of votes for approval of each petition will be announced to the committee after the written, confidential vote is taken. In the case of a tie vote on any petition, the petition will be automatically reconsidered.

The committee chair, will notify the recipients of the Safety Professional of the Year.

ASSP professional staff will send a letter from the TPRC chair to unsuccessful applicants for the Safety Professional of the Year.

C. Other Awards.

The committee will evaluate all petitions for any other award(s), as directed by the Board of Directors.

The committee chair, will notify the recipients of the award(s).

ASSP professional staff will send a letter from the TPRC chair to unsuccessful applicants for the award(s).

Addendum II: Development of a New Awards Program

The board, all Society units and individuals may desire to propose and implement additional, specific Society level awards. Using the ASSP business planning process, the TPRC may recommend to the Board of Directors new award programs that it considers appropriate for ASSP to implement. The proposal for the award will be submitted to the Board of Directors for final determination.

Any proposals for a new award should follow the ASSP business planning process and will ultimately require Board approval.

1. Purpose for the award: Society-level scope of the award.
2. Type of award: Include sponsorship, method of presentation, proposed physical or monetary award.
3. Eligibility criteria: Specify who will be eligible and on what basis.
4. General rules: Specific guidelines for petitioners to use for entry into the program, including application forms, entry deadline and nomination procedures.
5. Judging criteria: Criteria on which candidates will be judged.
6. Method of judging: The method of judging and the judging body will be specified in the proposal.

Approved By/Date: Board of Directors | 7/2023
Replaces Edition Dated: 12/2019
Next Revision Due: 1/2026