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The Society of Southwest Archivists offers two awards for distinguished service and three scholarships to further the continuing education of our members and help defray the costs of attending the annual meeting. An individual may apply for more than one scholarship but cannot receive the same scholarship more than once. Descriptions and application guidelines can be found by following the links below.
Distinguished Service Award
Sister M. Claude Lane Award
A. Otis Hebert, Jr. Continuing Education Scholarship
John Michael Caldwell Student Scholarship
SSA Annual Meeting Scholarship
The SSA's Distinguished Service Award is presented to a member who has made significant contributions to the society and the wider archival profession. In 1996 Metal Edge, Inc., graciously began sponsoring the award.
The Distinguished Service Award recipient is chosen by the Executive Board based on recommendations made by a committee chaired by the last SSA president. It does not have to be given annually.
We welcome nominations. There is no nomination form. Instead, nominations should be made in a letter that covers the contributions the nominee has made to SSA and to the profession. To strengthen the nomination, letters of support are encouraged. Please send nominations to the chair of the Distinguished Service Award Committee. The annual deadline for nominations is January 15th.
Past Distinguished Service Award recipients:
The Distinguished Service Award recipient is chosen by the Executive Board based on recommendations made by a committee chaired by the last SSA president. It does not have to be given annually.
We welcome nominations. There is no nomination form. Instead, nominations should be made in a letter that covers the contributions the nominee has made to SSA and to the profession. To strengthen the nomination, letters of support are encouraged. Please send nominations to the chair of the Distinguished Service Award Committee. The annual deadline for nominations is January 15th.
Past Distinguished Service Award recipients:
2009 Brenda Gunn
2007 Kathlene Ferris
2006 Paul Scott
2005 Carol Mathias
2004 Kinga Perzynska (posthumously)
2003 Cindy Smolovik
2002 Michael McColgin
2001 Kim Allen Scott
2000 Alfred Lemmon
1999 Robert Schaadt
1998 Kent Keeth
1997 Cynthia Martin
1996 Nancy L. Boothe
1995 Leon C. Miller
1994 Toby Murray
1993 Robert S. Martin
1990 Jane Kenamore
1989 Janet Neugebauer
1988 David Murrah
1986 Patricia Meador
1985 Jack Haley
1984 Charles Schultz
1983 Audray Bateman
1982 Samuel L. Sizer
1981 V. Nelle Bellamy & Marietta Malzer
1978 David B. Gracy II
1977 A. Otis Hebert, Jr. (posthumously)
Theresa Angela Lane (1915-1974) joined the Dominican Sisters and took the name Mary Claude in 1932. Sister Claude taught and served as librarian and choral director in Dominican elementary and high schools throughout Texas from 1933 to 1960. On completing her graduate studies at the University of Texas (MLS 1961), she became the first professionally trained archivist at the Catholic Archives of Texas in Austin, a position she held from 1960 to 1974. She expanded the holdings of the archives to include documentation on Catholic clergy, religious communities, and parishes and dioceses throughout the state. She also spoke and wrote on archival and historical topics.
Sister Claude was a founding member of the Society of Southwest Archivists and served on the SSA’s executive board.
The Award
The Sister M. Claude Lane Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of religious archives. The Society of Southwest Archivists created, sponsors, and funds the award (which includes a modest honorarium as well as a plaque), but the Society of American Archivists Awards Committee chooses the recipient. The award is announced during the SAA annual meeting.
The Sister M. Claude Lane Award is the only award established and funded by a regional archival organization but administered and presented by SAA. Created by the Society of Southwest Archivists in 1974, the Sister M. Claude Lane Award stands as an enduring example of regional/national cooperation.
The annual deadline is February 28th. More information, including nomination criteria, forms, and past honorees can be found at SAA's Award Page.
Sister Claude was a founding member of the Society of Southwest Archivists and served on the SSA’s executive board.
The Award
The Sister M. Claude Lane Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of religious archives. The Society of Southwest Archivists created, sponsors, and funds the award (which includes a modest honorarium as well as a plaque), but the Society of American Archivists Awards Committee chooses the recipient. The award is announced during the SAA annual meeting.
The Sister M. Claude Lane Award is the only award established and funded by a regional archival organization but administered and presented by SAA. Created by the Society of Southwest Archivists in 1974, the Sister M. Claude Lane Award stands as an enduring example of regional/national cooperation.
The annual deadline is February 28th. More information, including nomination criteria, forms, and past honorees can be found at SAA's Award Page.
The first president of the Society of Southwest Archivists, A. Otis Hebert, Jr. (1930-1976) was a noted historian, educator, archivist, and expert on Louisiana and the culture of Acadiana. An editor of Louisiana History and a member of the National Archives Advisory Council, Hebert served as director of the Louisiana Department of Archives and Records from 1966 to 1974. He left the state archives to become director of the Center for Acadian Folklore and Culture at the University of Southwestern Louisiana from 1974 to 1976.
In 1971 Hebert joined with a small band of archivists from Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma to found the Society of Southwest Archivists.
The Scholarship
In honor of SSA's founding president, this scholarship is intended to further the professional training of working archivists in the Southwest. It is especially intended to help archivists whose institutions may not be able to support continuing education. The scholarship was created through a generous bequest by SSA founder and first president A. Otis Hebert, Jr. It is maintained and increased in large part by SSA member donations.
The scholarship may support attendance at a workshop, archival institute, the SSA annual meeting, or other archival continuing education activity. The scholarship is for an amount up to $1,000. The scholarship must be used during the respective calendar year.
The annual application deadline is February 5th and applications should be sent to the chair of the Scholarships Committee.
Past A. Otis Hebert, Jr. Continuing Education Scholarship recipients:
In 1971 Hebert joined with a small band of archivists from Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma to found the Society of Southwest Archivists.
The Scholarship
In honor of SSA's founding president, this scholarship is intended to further the professional training of working archivists in the Southwest. It is especially intended to help archivists whose institutions may not be able to support continuing education. The scholarship was created through a generous bequest by SSA founder and first president A. Otis Hebert, Jr. It is maintained and increased in large part by SSA member donations.
The scholarship may support attendance at a workshop, archival institute, the SSA annual meeting, or other archival continuing education activity. The scholarship is for an amount up to $1,000. The scholarship must be used during the respective calendar year.
The annual application deadline is February 5th and applications should be sent to the chair of the Scholarships Committee.
Distribution Flyer/Poster (PDF, DOC)
Application (PDF, DOC)
Past A. Otis Hebert, Jr. Continuing Education Scholarship recipients:
2010 Bradley Wiles
2005 Felicia Lujan
2004 Allison Beechwood
2003 James W. Carlson
2002 Dena McDuffe
2001 Gaylon Corbin
2000 Melissa T. Salazar
1999 Daphne Arnaiz-DeLeon
1998 Sharon Perry Martin
1991 Sandra Jaramillo-Macias
1990 Robert Clark
1989 Edward Loch
1988 Jackie Thull
1987 Adelaide B. Elm
1986 Shirley Rodnitzky
1985 Kathie Bordelon
John Michael Caldwell (1951-1998) became the first archivist for the Carl Albert Center Congressional Archives at Oklahoma University in 1979. He initiated an award-winning series of traveling exhibits on Oklahoma and the U.S. Congress. He also obtained an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Archival Fellowship award for the Center through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and administered a grant program for visiting scholars.
In 1992 Caldwell left OU to accept a faculty appointment in geography at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. There, he received the F. Jay Taylor-Tech Foundation Undergraduate Teaching Award in 1998.
The Scholarship
The John Michael Caldwell Student Scholarship was established in 1998 in memory of a former officer and board member of SSA. It is intended to help an SSA member enrolled in a graduate archival education program attend the SSA Annual Meeting. It pays registration and will reimburse up to $600 for travel, lodging, and per diem expenses.
To be eligible you must be an SSA member enrolled in a library, archives, or public history program within the society's region. The annual application deadline is February 5th and applications should be sent to the chair of the Scholarships Committee.
Past John Michael Caldwell Student Scholarship recipients:
In 1992 Caldwell left OU to accept a faculty appointment in geography at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. There, he received the F. Jay Taylor-Tech Foundation Undergraduate Teaching Award in 1998.
The Scholarship
The John Michael Caldwell Student Scholarship was established in 1998 in memory of a former officer and board member of SSA. It is intended to help an SSA member enrolled in a graduate archival education program attend the SSA Annual Meeting. It pays registration and will reimburse up to $600 for travel, lodging, and per diem expenses.
To be eligible you must be an SSA member enrolled in a library, archives, or public history program within the society's region. The annual application deadline is February 5th and applications should be sent to the chair of the Scholarships Committee.
Distribution Flyer/Poster (PDF, DOC)
Application (PDF, DOC)
Past John Michael Caldwell Student Scholarship recipients:
2010 Michael Aday
2009 Michelle Bogart
2005 Philip Lee Montgomery
2004 Laura Hollingsed
2002 Jennifer Compton
2001 Daria Labinsky
2000 Michael Strom & Heidi Dodson
Presented annually, this scholarship provides financial aid to a working archivist with limited funding to attend the SSA Annual Meeting. The recipient will receive registration and reimbursed travel, lodging, and per diem expenses up to a total of $600.
An applicant must be a member of the Society of Southwest Archivists and demonstrate a need for assistance. The annual application deadline is February 5th and applications should be sent to the chair of the Scholarships Committee.
Past SSA Annual Meeting Scholarship recipients:
An applicant must be a member of the Society of Southwest Archivists and demonstrate a need for assistance. The annual application deadline is February 5th and applications should be sent to the chair of the Scholarships Committee.
Distribution Flyer/Poster (PDF, DOC)
Application (PDF, DOC)
Past SSA Annual Meeting Scholarship recipients:
2010 Michelle Bogart
2009 Kristy Sorensen
2005 Beth Silbergleit
2004 Patricia Nugent
2003 Rebecca Rich-Wulfmeyer
2002 Jamie Murray
2001 Rebecca Hankins
2000 Sister Hildegard Varga