On March 30, 2016, PAA president Judith A. Seltzer presented the PAA Excellence in Public Service Awards to three deserving individuals drawn from the U.S. Senate, congressional staff, and the federal civil service. The presentations took place at a reception sponsored by the Committee on Applied Demography and co-sponsored by the Government and Public Affairs Committee (GPAC).
Mr. Allen Cutler, a professional staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, was cited for his pragmatic, professional and bi-partisan approach to funding key agencies of interest to PAA, most notably the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Census Bureau.
Accepting on behalf of Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) was Molly O’Rourke McCarthy, a member of Senator Mikulski’s Appropriations Committee staff. Senator Mikulski, who was unable to attend, was acknowledged for her indispensable support for funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH), NSF and Census, and for her tireless and strong defense for the merit and peer review systems at NIH and NSF.
PAA member Jennifer Madans was recognized for her outstanding career at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and her contributions to advancing a robust data collection system, including innovations in including vital statistics in NCHS data sets.
Not present at the March 30 was the final Excellence in Public Service recipient, the Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) Congresswoman Johnson, who serves as the ranking member of the House Science Committee, has been a tireless champion to safeguard the independence of the merit review system at NSF, and has been outspoken in support of the social and behavioral sciences, in particular with regard to the SBE Directorate at NSF. Congresswoman Johnson accepted her award from 2015 PAA President Steve Ruggles and GPAC Chair Wendy Baldwin in her office on March 14, 2016.
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