Award Guidelines for the CAIR Samuel Agronow Scholarship
(Approved by the CAIR Executive Board on June 7, 2018)
Samuel Agronow Scholarship
Click here for guidelines and application materials for the Samuel Agronow Scholarship >
The deadline to submit an application is September 15th of the awarding year. The application must be addressed to Cheryl Harris, cheryl.harris@cair.org
In Memory of Samuel Agronow
Sam Agronow had a long and distinguished career in institutional research spanning a number of institutions including Riverside County Schools, the University of California, Samuel Merritt College, and Saint Mary’s College. Sam also served as CAIR’s president in 2007-08 and participated on the Board for several years, helping to shape and improve the organization.
Colleagues of Sam remember him for many of his qualities, but in particular for his breadth of experience in higher education and his service to CAIR, his positivity and generosity as a colleague, the value he placed on professional development, his creativity and excellence as a data analyst, and his belief in the value of higher education as a public good.
Samuel J. Agronow, Ph.D.
Oct 11,1949 – Nov 4,2012
“Sam was a great colleague. He always had a beaming smile on his face and lit up the room when he walked in. He was also great to be around. He had a great laugh and lightened things up.”
-Chris Furgiuele
“Sam was the best colleague you could imagine – he had a tremendous energy and enthusiasm. He was also curious, open-minded, and able to look at an issue in multiple ways. He wanted to make sure data and information could be used.”
-Bob Cox
“Sam cared about all of our customers. He built his reputation around not just doing things for the UC but also for the public. He thought transparency and sharing information with the public was important for public education in California.”
-Tongshan Chang
“Sam was my bridge to CAIR. I ran into Sam after attending my first CAIR conference and thanked him for putting on a great conference and showing me the ropes. Sam said, ‘You didn’t just attend, you participated.’ Every time I think of going to CAIR I think of Sam’s words and how I can participate, and that everyone who goes can participate in the IR community.”
-Chris Furgiuele
“[Sam] believed that sharing ideas with each other would make us all stronger”.
-Laura Massa via Carole Wolf
“Sam thought of IR as an activity – that there was a lot of value in using evidence to make decisions rather than relying entirely on anecdotes.”
-Charles Masten
“I am very honored to have worked with him and to have been a member of his team. He really cared about the development of his team members, and without him I don’t think I would have reached the same point in my career today.”
-Tongshan Chang
“He was patient, kind, and extremely easy to work with. Upon his passing, Provost Beth Dobkin wrote, ‘In his all too brief time at Saint Mary’s, Sam became a vital, much trusted and beloved member of our community.’”
-Carole Wolf
“Sam was the nicest man you could meet. He shared his passion for IR with the whole IR community in California, and encouraged us all to do the best research we could. He was innovative, approachable, and was a living example of how to be the utmost IR professional.”
-Jacque Honda