3-3-5 James V. Mink Scholarship

General Description

This scholarship is awarded each year an SCA AGM is held in person. This award is in honor of James V. Mink, long-time archivist at UCLA and the first President of the Society of California Archivists.

The Mink Scholarship promotes the professional development of students preparing to become archivists or archivists who have recently graduated by providing financial support for attendance at the Annual General Meeting and a pre-conference workshop. In some cases, and with approval of the SCA Board, more than one Mink Scholarship may be awarded in a given year.

The Mink Scholarship is awarded as a check, and the recipient also receives a SCA silver pin. Recipient will be required to write an article for the SCA newsletter regarding their conference experience after the AGM.

Criteria

Applicants must meet one of the following two criteria:

Enrolled in an archival education program in California, (i.e. a graduate program or a specialized education program sponsored by an archival institution), or is an SCA student member enrolled in an archival program outside the state.
Has completed an archival education program as defined above and has less than one year archival work experience.

Each applicant must submit a completed application form, including a letter of recommendation from someone with knowledge of the applicant’s goals in the archival profession. Application form for must include a statement that applicant agrees to write an article for the SCA newsletter following the AGM. Applications are sent to the Chair of the Awards Committee with application deadlines set approximately 10 weeks before the Annual General Meeting.

The Award

The normal award is $1,500 as of 2017-2018.
The amount of the Mink Scholarship may be amended upward or downward by the Board, and changes will be made based on anticipated expenses of specific AGMs (e.g. out of state Western Roundups) and the health of the Mink Fund, which must maintain its principal of $10,000.
Any changes to the award amount will be communicated to the Awards Committee Chair by the Board Liaison immediately after the Board’s fall budget meeting
The award amount is intended to cover conference registration and assist with any travel, lodging and food expenses incurred by the recipient. In addition, workshop registration will be provided and the recipient will receive an Awards Luncheon ticket provided by the committee.
The award will be presented to the recipient(s) at the AGM in the form of a check.
The cost of conference registration at the appropriate level (e.g. student rate) will be deducted from the award check total if registration fees were not paid by the recipient.
The cost of the recipient’s pre-conference workshop will be absorbed by SCA.
- For workshops developed by the SCA Education Committee a free seat will be reserved and offered to the recipient.
- For workshops by other organizations (e.g. SAA), any free seat offered SCA for co-sponsorship will be reserved and offered to the recipient. A placeholder name may need to be recorded early in the registration period in order to hold a seat.
- If a cash registration fee for a pre-conference workshop is needed, it will be budgeted from the Education Fund.
The cost of the recipient’s Awards Luncheon meal is a committee expense, and should be reflected in the Awards Committee’s annual budget request.

Awards Committee Responsibilities

Revises the brochure and website information as needed to keep it current with dates and application information.
Notifies membership of the availability of the scholarship in the Newsletter and publicizes the scholarship through appropriate communication channels. This may include sending the Mink Scholarship brochure, application form, and cover letter to archival educators, history departments, library schools before the end of the fall semester.
Submits the name of an Awards Committee member (usually the Chair) as a placeholder for pre-conference workshop registration as soon as registration opens. A place should be held in any workshop offered, until a recipient is named and selects a preferred workshop. Unused reserved registrations must be explicitly released as early as possible so that seats may be filled. The placeholder registration may need to be coordinated with the Local Arrangements Committee or with an outside organization (e.g. SAA) if another organization is providing the workshop.
Follows-up with telephone calls or other reminders to archival educators, if necessary, about a month before the deadline.
Distributes completed applications judged eligible and complete to Awards Committee members.
The committee conducts a vote on the nominees.
Verbally notifies the scholarship awardee(s) and sends a formal award letter.
Sends a letter of thanks to each applicant.
Receives completed SCA article(s) from awardee(s) and submits article(s) to the SCA newsletter editor(s). Requests of the SCA Treasurer a scholarship check made out to the awardee(s). This is done via the SCA Reimbursement Form.
Provides the President with a copy of the application from the awardee(s).
Presents awardee(s) to the membership at the Annual General Meeting.
Announces the winner(s) in a SCA Newsletter article.

_Revision history: 5/91, 5/93 jab, 6/93 bh, 6/09 jmw, 3/15 tep, 10/2017 llc, 06/2018 llc, 04/2024 alp

Section 3-3-5 James V. Mink Scholarship
Part 3 Committees
Handbook of the Society of California Archivists