SGS Awards & Scholarships
Awards & Scholarships
The Board of Directors invites nominations for several awards each year. Presentations of the awards are made at the Annual Conference.
The SGS Annual Awards are listed below. For award criteria, names of past award winners, and nomination forms please click on the Learn More buttons.
SGS Award nominations are now open.
Deadline: February 13th, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.
Distinction Awards
GRITS
This award seeks to maintain and stimulate interest in the history of SGS, and perpetuate the legacy of past and present members, including recognition of their achievements in the field of gerontology, their contributions to enhancing the lives of elders in the SGS region, and their service as role models for future generations interested in the advancement of knowledge and practice in the field of aging.
Gordon Streib Distinguished Academic Gerontologist Award
This award is named in memory of Gordon F. Streib and is meant to recognize SGS members, from all aspects of gerontology, who have shown excellence in leadership within and contribution to professional organizations and organizations which serve older people, a strong record of scholarly publications, and significant teaching influence with students and/or training of service providers or educators.
Victor W. Marshall Fellow in Applied Gerontology Award
This designation is named in honor of Victor W. Marshall and is meant to recognize SGS members, from all aspects of gerontology, who have made and continue to make substantive contributions to the field. This designation is an acknowledgement of outstanding and continuing achievement that bridges the domains of original and applied research, service to government, practice with older adults, gerontology education and advocacy within gerontology.
Applied Gerontologist Award
This award is given to SGS members in the fields of applied gerontology in the South. Award winners have a sustained record of leadership in the field of aging, are recognized in their fields, and generally, have positively impacted the quality of life of older persons through developing innovative programs such as applications of findings/approaches to research, education, management or services delivery (with emphasis on application).
Best Practices Award
The Best Practices Award from the Southern Gerontological Society is intended to recognize programs, organizations, or aging services that engage in innovative and collaborative approaches intended to improve services and the quality of life for older adults. Awardees have demonstrated evidence of significant contribution to the field of aging and the development of gerontology in the South.
Rhoda Jennings Distinguished Older Advocate Award
Several years ago, we named one of our special awards, the Older Advocate Award, for Rhoda Jennings, longtime SGS member and extraordinary advocate for older adults. Rhoda was the first recipient of the Older Advocate Award in 1987. The SGS Senior Advocate Award is given to recognize an older person whose retirement years have been devoted to community or legislative advocacy.
Media Award
SGS offers the Media Award to recognize an outstanding media contribution to further understanding of aging in the region and to the mission of SGS.
Travel and Student Awards
Student Paper Award
SGS encourages student submissions and offers cash awards to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for the best paper(s) authored principally by a student. Candidates for this award will be required to submit a full paper in advance of the Annual Conference. The recipient(s) of this award will present the paper at the Annual Conference. The Student Paper Award manuscript will be reviewed for possible publication in the Journal of Applied Gerontology.
Student Poster Award
In 2010 SGS awarded its first SGS Student Poster Award to encourage student poster submissions. SGS encourages student submissions and offers cash awards to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for the best poster presentation delivered principally by a student. Any SGS Student Member submitting scholarly work for presentation at the SGS Annual Conference in Poster format as the primary author is eligible.
SGS Student Travel Scholarship Award
The Southern Gerontological Society SGS Student Travel Scholarship Award was established in 2014 to support student members of SGS who have been accepted to present at the SGS annual meeting and can be used for SGS meeting related expenses. The funding for the award comes from the proceeds of the SGS Annual Meeting Silent Auction. This funding has allowed SGS the resources to provide a monetary amount to selected award recipients who are presenting research at our annual meeting.
SGS Encore Recognition Travel Grant
This travel grant was established in 2019 to recognize SGS members who have retired, yet desire to remain engaged with SGS and attend the annual conference. To qualify for this grant, the applicant must be a current SGS member, in the “Encore” membership category, have maintained at least five (5) years of SGS membership, and fill out the self-nomination/application form. The amount of the grant will be determined by the SGS Executive Committee and may be split amongst more than one applicant. Winners will remain anonymous.
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