N E W S L E T T E R - American Society for Horticultural Science

Re flec tions
by Fred S. Davies
ASHS President
The Road to a Fellow—Sometimes it’s Full of Apples
“Election as a Fellow is the highest honor that the Society
can award to its members for contributions to the Society and
to horticulture” (ASHS Bylaws, Appendix J, IA). Most members
probably would like to be recognized in this way, although I donʼt
think that most members consciously pursue this goal. In fact,
some members, like my old mentor, Robert Hilgeman, actually
eschewed the award for years and refused to go to the awards
ceremony when he was selected a Fellow in 1974. He was the
George C. Scott of horticulture. Like almost every award, there
is always some discussion about who should or should not be
a Fellow. As my esteemed colleague, Don Maynard said, and
I paraphrase, “There has rarely
been a class of Fellows selected
where someone wasnʼt upset or
questioned someoneʼs selection or
lack thereof.” Iʼve questioned some
selections myself. This article will
examine and discuss the Fellows
nomination and award process.
History and Procedure
The fi rst class of Fellows was
elected in 1965 and consisted of
a “Whoʼs Who” of horticulture,
including W.H. Chandler, V.R. Gardner, A.J. Heinicke, H.A.
Rollins, and H.B. Tukey, Sr., to name a few. Itʼs diffi cult to believe
that anyone opposed these selections. This class of Fellows was
composed entirely of established, white males. However, the
nature of our Fellowsʼ classes has gradually changed over the past
40 years to include females and younger, mid-career recipients,
although some of our members have expressed concern that
these changes are not occurring rapidly enough. Since “Fellow”
is derived from the Old English, feoh, there is no grammatically
proper way, nor should there be, to distinguish between male
and female recipients, as some have suggested. I hope that weʼll
hold on to the term without bias in the future. In fact, I think that
if there is any unintentional bias in the selection process, it is
related to appointment. It appears that nominees who are primarily
researchers are more likely to become Fellows than nominees in
teaching, extension, or industry. The nomination form itself is
slanted toward research accomplishments. How many Fellows
have had 100% teaching appointments?
Qualifi cations of a Fellow
The criteria and eligibility requirements of a Fellow are broadly
written and include a person who “will enhance ASHS prestige
and infl uence (positively) the reputation of ASHS.” The recipient
should be an ASHS member for at least 10 years. The Fellows
screening committee consists of nine members appointed for 3year
staggered terms. Committee members must be Fellows and
six of nine members must vote to approve the nominee along with
75% approval by the Board of Directors (BOD).
Sometimes, the procedure itself causes some controversy. But,
this is true of all awards, from the Nobel Prize to the Academy
Awards. For example, I often laid awake nights wondering why
Sandy Koufax got elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the fi rst
ballot (165 wins in 12 years) and Gaylord Perry did not (300+
wins in over 20 years). Part of the
answer was that Koufax dominated
baseball for a short time, while Perry
proved his value over the long run.
The Perry paradigm is probably
most appropriate for our situation.
In ASHS, most Fellows have been
members for more than 20, not 10,
years and are at least 40 years old.
—ASHS — Bylaws Bylaws,
Appendix J, IA
By comparison, the minimum age
to become U.S. President is 35,
and Bill Clinton was 32 when he
became governor of Arkansas. My
view regarding the nature of a Fellow is similar to that of Justice
Steward, who, paraphrased, once said, “I donʼt know what a
Fellow is, but I know one when I see him/her.” In addition, while
scientifi c, teaching, extension, or industry accomplishments are
important, name recognition and “value to the Society” are also
important for the selection of a Fellow. Youʼll fi nd that a high
percentage of Fellows have served on numerous committees, as
editors, on the BOD, or as program moderators or participants at
the annual meetings.
“Election as a Fellow is the highest
honor that the Society can award
to its members for contributions
to the Society and to horticulture”
Fellows Screening Procedures
Traditionally, the screening procedure begins with a considerable
amount of time and effort by a sponsor who puts the package
together. In most years, there is no lack of sponsor participation,
which I fi nd highly laudable. However, in my opinion, the
application process itself sometimes overshadows the nomineeʼs
qualifi cations. I know that we need guidelines to foster uniformity
and fairness, but are we really going to disqualify a nominee because
the sponsor didnʼt read the directions and submitted six letters
instead of fi ve, or 16 references rather than 15? I would like to
see more fl exibility related to the application itself. Nevertheless,
Continued on page 4
ASHS NEWSLETTER, Vol. 21(5), May 2005 3