Fellowship of the Association

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Fellowship is one of the highest honors the Association bestows. To be awarded Fellow, the nominee must have made outstanding contributions to the discipline of communication sciences and disorders.

The key word for this award is "outstanding:" the nominee must truly stand out among one's peers. The term implies contributions that are significant and would be so regarded within and beyond one's community or state. While there are thousands of members who fulfill their professional responsibilities competently, only a small percentage have, by virtue of the quality and amount of their contributions, distinguished themselves sufficiently to warrant recognition.

The Committee on Honors awards nominees solely on the information provided in the nomination documents prepared by the sponsor. When information and/or documentation are incomplete, the Committee may be unable to award deserving individuals.

Required Components for Fellow Nominations

Nominee is an ASHA member in good standing or an international affiliate.
Sponsor and two co-sponsors are ASHA members in good standing or international affiliates.
Two of the three persons submitting the nomination are Fellows of ASHA.
Two of the three persons submitting the nomination have not related to the nominee as a fellow student or co-worker in the same physical setting or facility within the past 10 years.
The sponsor and co-sponsors must agree on the areas on which the nomination will be evaluated.
Members who are currently employed or have been employed by ASHA, cannot use the area “Service to ASHA” as one of the areas on which the nomination will be evaluated. They may, however, include work performed while an ASHA staff member to support their accomplishments in any of the other “Areas of Outstanding Performance” (i.e., Clinical Service, Clinical Education and Academic Teaching, Research, Administrative Service, and Service and Leadership to State and/or Other Related Organizations), on which the nomination will be evaluated.
Sponsor and co-sponsors have provided the following factual information in support of the nominee:
- Supporting documentation includes only ONE letter from the sponsor and ONE letter each from two cosponsors (additional letters are not allowed)
- Professional vita – (included in the 15-page limit) must use vita template provided below
- Agreed upon three areas of outstanding performance
- Nomination materials, including all supporting documentation, may not exceed 15 pages (for example, 5 pages for sponsor letters and 10 pages for vita or 6 pages for sponsor letters and 9 pages for vita)
- All supporting documentation must be at least single-spaced with 12-point font size
- Any inserted or embedded items in the supporting documentation must adhere to line spacing and font size requirements
- All supporting documentation must be combined into one pdf document.
General Requirements
Vita Template for Fellow Nominations [DOCX]

Note: The nominee may provide supporting information directly to the sponsor and may assist in the preparation of the document. However, the sponsor has ultimate responsibility for the final nomination materials. Once the materials have been submitted, the nomination process should remain confidential among the sponsors and the Committee on Honors.

Areas of Outstanding Performance

Nominees for Fellow must show outstanding contributions to their profession within and beyond one's community or state in three of the six areas listed below. The nomination is evaluated only on the three areas designated by the sponsor and agreed upon by the co-sponsors. The reviewers will be looking for objective evidence of specific accomplishments in the identified three of the six areas. Sponsors are encouraged to focus on both the quantity and quality of the nominee's achievements. The letters should describe clearly the outcomes and significance of the nominee's achievements in each area and should explain why the contributions are outstanding. Achievements should be specific to one area, that is, the same accomplishment should not be used as evidence for outstanding contributions in more than one area.

1. Clinical Service in the Area of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Documentation should be in the form of factual information that verifies the quality, extent and outcomes of outstanding clinical service. Examples of ways an individual may have rendered outstanding clinical service include the following:

The development of new or more effective service/delivery models. Evidence that the model was adopted by other clinicians or organizations can demonstrate the model's impact or importance.
The organization of methods for disseminating clinical information
The amount and quality of direct client/patient care provided
The amount and quality of mentoring and supervision of personnel (not students or Clinical Fellows) who provide direct client/patient services
Development of new or improved diagnostic and/or treatment procedures
Organization of parents groups or professional structure to effect better service to those with communication disorders

Neither an occasional letter of appreciation from clients and/or patients, nor routine performance of high-quality professional services is sufficient, in itself, as documentation of outstanding clinical services.

2. Clinical Education and Academic Teaching in Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology, Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and Related Areas. Evidence of outstanding contributions may include (but are not restricted to) the following:

Number and quality of new courses developed by the nominee
Amount and quality of contributions to continuing education (workshops, lectures, symposia, short courses, seminars)
Courses, workshops, lectures etc. to other professionals and students of other professions (e.g., medical education) about communicative disorders and/or its impact on health care delivery, education, or overall daily human function
Development of innovative or unique instructional methods and/or materials
Supervision and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students and Clinical Fellows
Nominations for or receipt of awards for outstanding teaching
Results of representative samples of evaluations of teaching and mentoring by regular and/or continuing education students
The number and nature of any invited lectureships, etc.

3. Research-based Contributions to the Knowledge Needed by the Professions. Evidence of excellence in this area should include an impact statement of the significance of the work and/or products and their theoretical and practical impacts on the clients and communities that are served. Evidence of outstanding contributions may include (but are not restricted to) the following (listed in alphabetical order, not in order of significance):

Articles in national or international refereed journals
Articles in non-refereed local, state or regional publications
Awards and other recognition of outstanding contribution(s) in research
Books, textbooks (including whether nominee was author or editor)
Chapters, technical reports
Community-engaged research (e.g., outreach, community-based partnerships)
Internal and external funding
Products of research (e.g., training modules, booklets, infographics, system changes, curriculum, software)
Research citation metrics

NOTE: Citations should be in the American Psychological Association format.

The amount and quality of supervision and mentoring of others in the area of Research-based Contributions may be included in this area. (Unpublished reports and other research efforts of limited scope or availability to the profession are not considered sufficient evidence of an outstanding contribution in this category.)

4. Administrative Services in the Area of Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology, and Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences. Evidence of contributions in this area may include:

Administrative titles held by the nominee, e.g., head, chief, chair, director
Programs or units administered, e.g., academic, department, clinic, research program
Nature of the institutions in which the nominee served as administrator, e.g., college, university, hospital, public/private schools
Time periods spent in various administrative roles
Size and scope of programs administered, e.g., number of clinicians, faculty, students, patients/clients
Amount and quality of supervision and mentoring of staff members who do not provide direct client/patient services
Impact of innovative administrative structures and processes

Quality of administrative activity should be evidenced by information pertaining to broad planning and administration of programs that have impact on the quality of service or the image of the profession; development and administration of innovative programs directed at special needs; and/or growth patterns in programs administered, e.g., increases in scope of service/research, funding, staff development. Outcomes and the quality and impact of those outcomes should be addressed for key administrative roles.

5. Service to ASHA. Evidence of outstanding leadership and/or service to ASHA may include:

Membership or leadership on ASHA committees, boards, councils, task forces, etc., Advisory Councils, or the Board of Directors
Service as the ASHA representative(s) to the boards, committees, task forces, etc., of other organizations and regulatory bodies (e.g., ANSI)
Participation on ad hoc committees for development of specialized statements/positions/guidelines (including the special contributions of the nominee)
Service as a site visitor for the CAA
Editorial and/or review service on an ASHA journal
Annual convention program chair, section chair, or reviewer

Documentation in this area should address how the nominee's service and participation contributed to quality outcomes that impacted the professions. Regular attendance at professional meetings and/or presentation of papers at such meetings is not construed to be sufficient evidence of outstanding contributions in this context.

6. Service to and Leadership Positions in State Speech-Language-Hearing Associations and/or Other Related Local, Regional, National or International Professional Organizations (not ASHA). Evidence of contributions in this area may include:

Membership or leadership (appointed or volunteered for) on boards, councils, committees, subcommittees, task forces
Elected offices held
Editorial and/or review service for publications
Review panels for funding agencies
Membership on state/national advisory groups
Participation on certification/licensing boards
Awards and other recognition of outstanding contribution(s) to State and Other Associations (not ASHA)

Documentation in this area should address how the nominee's service and participation contributed to quality outcomes. Regular attendance at professional meetings and/or presentation of papers at such meetings is not construed to be sufficient evidence of outstanding contributions in this context.

Failure to adhere to all required components and instructions will result in rejection of the nomination. Any materials exceeding the specified number of pages will also be rejected.

Nomination schedule and submission process

Still Have Questions? Contact governance@asha.org.