Current Committee Charge: To evaluate submissions to and select the recipient of the Gene S. Stuart Award.
Committee Composition: Committee composition is one chair, one member, and one staff liaison.
Committee Chair and End of Term: Kirk D. French [2014]
Committee Chair Contact Information: Kirk D. French, Department of Anthropology, 120 Carpenter Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, ph: 814-865-1142, fax: 814-863-1474, email: kirkdfrench@psu.edu
Committee Members and Ends of Terms: Mary Beth Trubitt [2013], Erin Hegberg [2013], Staff Liaison John Neikirk
Board Liaison: Melinda Zeder
Award Description: An award is made to honor outstanding efforts to enhance public understanding of archaeology, in memory of Gene S. Stuart (1930-1993), a writer and managing editor of National Geographic Society books. The award is given to the author of the most interesting and responsible original story or series about any archaeological topic published in a newspaper or magazine.
Who Is Eligible to Apply or Submit Nominations: The award is given to single or multiple authored articles, stories, or series of stories published in newspapers or magazines. The emphasis is on publications available to the general public (rather than limited distribution newsletters), and online publications are not excluded. The award honors good writing that brings awareness of archaeology to the public eye. Nominations can be submitted by authors themselves, by magazine/newspaper editors, or by readers. Authors or newspaper editors will work with the committee chair to assemble and submit a nomination file. Awardees may be members or non-members of the SAA.
Nomination/Submission Materials Required: Nominators
will work with the committee chair to assemble a nomination file that will
include the nominated article, which should have been published within the
calendar year of 2012. An author/newspaper editor may submit no more than five
stories or five articles from a series. Nomination packets may be submitted
electronically as PDFs via email to the committee chair. If submitting hard
copies, six copies of each entry must be submitted by the author or an editor
of the newspaper.
Nomination/Submission Deadline: January 10, 2013
Other Special Requirements: None
Selection or Evaluation Criteria: The Gene S. Stuart Award is given to the author of the most interesting and responsible original story/series about any archaeological topic published in a newspaper or magazine. The story/series should adhere to the guidelines of the Principles of Archaeological Ethics as outlined by the Society for American Archaeology.
Committee Deliberation Process (e.g. dates, venue):
After award requirements and deadline information are distributed to journalists and editors via the SAA web and by the Media Relations Committee, the committee chair collects submissions up to the submission deadline, and sends the submissions to the award committee members. The committee chair communicates electronically evaluation procedures and deadlines to committee members. The committee meets electronically to evaluate submissions after the deadline has passed. The committee members evaluate submissions, rank them, and explain their rationale for their rankings. Based on the recommendations of the chair, the committee members and the ex officio journalist member, the chair makes the decision as to who gets the award.
Nature of Award (e.g. monetary, medal, symposium): The awardee receives $2,000 and recognition from the SAA.
Awardees
2011 Dan Vergano (USA Today)
Dan Vergano, an award-winning science reporter for the national daily newspaper USA TODAY, has earned the 2011 Gene S. Stuart Award for his interesting, thoughtful, and authoritative writing about problem-oriented archaeological research in the Puuc region of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. “So long, said the Maya” and its online version present the reader with a no-nonsense yet engaging view of important research questions explored from the perspective of the Kiuic site in the Yucatan. Vergano blends his astute reporting with the authority of individual archaeological investigators and their assessment of archaeological evidence to involve the reader in exploring rapid abandonments of some Maya sites. His discussion of archaeological evidence in the contexts of time, physical and social environments, and culture enable the reader to connect the analysis of the site with the complex processes of change in the Yucatan and elsewhere.
2012 Mike Toner (American Archaeology)
2011 Dan Vergano (USA Today)
2010 Andrea Cooper (Free Lance)
2009 Andrew Lawler (Science Magazine)
2008 Tom Avril (Philadelphia Enquirer)
2007 Richard L. Hill (The Oregonian)
2006 Andrew Petkofsky
2005 Marion Lloyd
2004 Alexandra Witze
2003 None
2002 Chip Minty
2001 Mike Toner (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
2000 Frank Roylance (Baltimore Sun)
1999 William Mullen (Chicago Tribune)
1998 Diedtra Henderson (Seattle Times)
1997 None
1996 Matt Crenson (Dallas Morning News)
1995 Nathan Seppa (Wisconsin State Journal)
1994 Scott LaFee (San Diego Union-Tribune)