The Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Awards are presented to ASTC members and/or their staff and volunteers in recognition of extraordinary accomplishments. Honorees not only enhance the performance of their own organizations, but also significantly advance our field.
The awards are named in honor of Roy L. Shafer, a former ASTC board chair who served as president and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio. After his death, the ASTC Board of Directors named the Leading Edge Awards for Shafer in tribute to his progressive thinking, dynamic leadership, and devotion to our profession. See below for more information about Shafer.
2025 nominations have closed
Nominations for the 2025 award cycle will open in April 2025.
The ASTC Awards Committee seeks to recognize achievement in areas that explicitly align with key elements of ASTC’s strategic framework:
- Support Lifelong Science Learning: Efforts that demonstrate effective, evidence-based approaches to learning, including learning at all life stages, intergenerational opportunities for learning, and activities to better understand what works.
- Engage a Wide Range of Audiences: Efforts that reach or invite participation from a wide range of audiences, especially those who have not traditionally participated in science and science engagement opportunities and/or that respond to shifting community demographics. Note that nominations and the selection process should account for institutional and community contexts.
- Connect Science and Society and Partner to Tackle Local and Global Issues: Efforts that involve members’ activities to act on an issue of local or global importance, including equitable partnerships with other organizations, groups, or communities.
- Strengthen the Organization to Thrive as a Community Leader: Efforts that contribute to the organization’s operations and administration so that it is adaptable, supported by a diverse and skilled staff, sustainable finances, and collaborative relationships, and that is recognized as a leader in its community.
This year’s nominations may also draw upon the theme for the ASTC 2025 Annual Conference:
- Connectivity: Efforts that underscore the critical role science centers and the science engagement field plays in our communities, helping people connect to knowledge, with each other, and across our society.
It is expected that most nominations will focus on only one or two of these elements. Achievement across multiple aspects will not necessarily lead to a stronger nomination and we do not expect nominations to address all areas. Rather, we look for nominators to tell the story of the project and where its excellence and uniqueness are most evident. As part of its review of all nominations received, the Awards Committee will determine the distribution of awards for a given cycle across categories.
This structure helps put the focus on the why rather than the what and is intended to provide opportunity to nominate achievements across the full breadth of ASTC members’ organizations, rather than needing to fall into more specific areas. That being said, the types of nominations that had been submitted in the previous categories—Business Practice, Community Service, Resilience, and Visitor Experience—remain relevant under this new framework.
For example, an achievement in visitor experience could highlight any of the pillars, depending upon its focus. Perhaps it is focused on engaging in a specific area of STEM; perhaps it specifically focuses on extending the reach of the institution or serving particular audiencess; perhaps it helps the organization address topics that are especially relevant to the local community; or perhaps it strengthens the organization’s visibility, develops new processes, or opens up new revenue streams.
In addition to these perennial areas of focus, the committee may also specifically request nominations relevant to other current trends, recent challenges, or timely topics that advance ASTC’s field-wide strategic priorities. These topics may be new each year and will be determined based on input from ASTC’s Board of Directors and committees.
We also welcome nominations for achievements uniquely or especially relevant to natural history museums and other natural history settings—such as achievements related to research, collections, and authenticity.
This area of emphasis for 2025 reflects the special call for sessions on natural history at the ASTC 2025 Annual Conference, where the awards will be presented.
Individual Nominations
Awards for individuals will include—but not limited to—leadership in developing and applying new ideas and/or enhancing best practices. The award recognizes leadership, regardless of professional position or supervisory status, and we encourage nominations across the entire breadth of an organization’s team.
The committee will consider separately those serving in a chief executive role (i.e., CEO, Executive Director, President), other formal leaders not in CEO roles, and those demonstrating leadership regardless of title or job level. Nominations of junior, front-line, and floor staff and those new to the field are especially encouraged.
Please note that nominations should generally focus on leadership qualities beyond a specific project or activity. This can include nomination for achievements across multiple projects or over a career. Leadership in the context of a specific project may, instead, be appropriate for an organizational award as projects are often team achievements. As such, please avoid submitting a nomination for individual leadership for a specific project that is also nominated for an organizational award.
Additional Considerations
We also wish to flag several additional considerations:
- Nominators are explicitly asked to provide evidence of impact as part of the nomination. The types of evidence are not prescribed but allow nominators to provide whatever information is readily available and helps speak to the impact of the achievement. For example, this might include letters of reference from key partners, evaluation data, research publications, or news clippings.
- The committee seeks nominations across all stages of development including established efforts and completed projects—as well as emerging efforts, early-stage innovations, and in-progress activities that show promise. Nominations for completed projects, established programs, and early-stage innovations will be considered separately.
This is in addition to the continuing practice of separately considering nominations from smaller science centers and museums (those with annual operating revenue of less than $3 million), larger science centers and museums (those with annual operating revenue of more than $3 million), and allied members of ASTC.
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2024 Leading Edge Awards! Your work inspires our entire community!
Eligibility
Leading Edge Awards may be presented to ASTC-member organizations in good standing—and their staff and volunteers. This includes both Science and Museum Members and Allied Members. Organizations may submit nominations on behalf of their own achievements or for another ASTC-member organization. Self-nominations are welcome in all categories with the exception of Individual Leadership (though the nominator may still be from the same organization).
Nominations describing collaborations among ASTC-member organizations—including partnerships between science centers and Allied Members are also eligible and encouraged. Indeed, these collaborations may be explicitly called out as part of the nomination form.
With the exception of individual nominations for excellence across a career, nominations should describe an achievement that has occurred since January 1, 2023.
Selection
The ASTC Awards Committee will review all eligible nominations and select award recipients. The committee is made up of individuals from ASTC-member organizations who are knowledgeable about our field and represent a broad spectrum of ASTC’s global membership. Those interested in being considered for the Awards Committee should complete the volunteer interest form on the ASTC website.
Members of the Awards Committee will not be involved in the review of nominations from their own organization.
Recognition
Leading Edge Awards will be presented on an annual basis, including at the ASTC Annual Conference. Awardees will be recognized during a conference plenary session and may be featured on additional graphics and signage throughout the conference. The award presentation will not only describe the specific achievements, but why they resonated with the Awards Committee, highlighting the unique and inspiring aspects of the honored program.
Award recipients will receive complementary registration to the conference at which they are receiving the award. Award recipients will be encouraged to wear exclusive ribbons or pins—provided by ASTC—that can be attached to their name badge or worn to highlight their accomplishments and invite their peers to ask about their award-winning work.
Current or recent award winners may be asked to present a lightning talk, poster, or other more extended presentation on their work at the ASTC Annual Conference, so that others may better learn from their example—and the Conference Program Planning Committee will be asked to set aside time on the conference program for presentation by current awardees (in addition to considering session proposals from previous awardees).
Consistent with ASTC’s member engagement strategy and priorities, award winners may also be invited to take part in webinars, discussions, and other virtual events to take place throughout the year—and to author articles on their achievements for ASTC’s digital publications and platforms. In addition to providing additional venues for recognition, these non-conference opportunities will help ensure that those not at the conference can learn about these successful approaches.
Timeline
Nominations opened on April 9, 2025.
All nominations are due by 11:59 pm ET on Monday, May 5, 2025.
Nominations must be submitted by following the links above.
Awards will be presented at the ASTC 2025 Annual Conference which will be held September 5–8 in the San Francisco Bay Area and be celebrated throughout the year.
About Roy L. Shafer
Roy Shafer’s science center career began in the 1960s, when he first volunteered at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio. He soon became an important figure at the museum, founding its camp-in program and eventually serving for 13 years as COSI’s president and CEO. Shafer was a member of the ASTC Board of Directors for 11 years, including two years as president. After he started his own consulting firm, the Roy L. Shafer Company, he became ASTC’s organizational coach, helping the association to develop its mission, strategic plan, and core values and objectives. ASTC honored him in 1999 with the ASTC Fellow Award for Outstanding Contribution. After his death, the ASTC Board of Directors named the Leading Edge Awards for Shafer in tribute to his progressive thinking, dynamic leadership, and devotion to our profession.
Leading Edge Award Recipients
Browse the list of previous recipients of the Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Awards by year, organization, or individual: