Abrams Award: Dr. Faust

Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, Annenberg Professor of History, is the 1996 winner of the Ira Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching in the School of Arts and Sciences, in recognition of "teaching that is intellectually rigorous, exceptionally coherent, and that leads to an informed understanding of a discipline."

In the words of her citation as a Lindback Award winner in 1982, she is known for creating a "dynamic and challenging learning environment" that encourages students to share her breadth of interest and rigorous depth in research. She teaches on the history of the American South, up to and including the Civil War--and, as in a recent General Honors course, also explores thematically the relationships between war and society. Her most recent book is Mothers of Invention (see Compass feature in Almanac March 5), which explores ways the War changed Southern women. Other works include John Henry Hammond and the Old South, which won three national awards in 1983; a 1977 book on the dilemma of the intellectual in the Old South, reissued in 1986; and 1988's The Creation of Confederate Nationalism: Ideology and Identity in the Civil War South.

Dr. Faust, a Bryn Mawr alumna who took her Ph.D. in American Civilization at Penn, joined the faculty as assistant professor in 1976 and rose to full professor in 1984, chairing the American Civilization department twice and holding the Stanley I. Sheerr term chair there in 1988-89. She moved to history and the Annenberg chair in 1989. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1994.

A reception later this month will honor Dr. Faust and the eight graduate students who have won this year's Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching: Bruce Lenthall, American Civilization; Paul Nealen, Biology; Peter Parolin, English; Roberta Stack, English; Scott Shrake, German; Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, History; Michael McShane, Philosophy; and Scott Silverstone, Political Science. Their award has just been increased from $500 to $600.

The Abrams Award carries a prize of $6000 for the recipient and another $4000 for the department. The prize has been given since 1983--sometimes shared by two faculty members. Recipients to date are Drs. Vicki Mahaffey of English, Frank Warner of Mathematics, Digby Baltzell of Sociology, Walter Licht of History, Daniel Janzen of Biology, Alan Mann of Anthropology, Elaine Scarry of English, Thomas Childers of History, Robert Lucid of English, Henry Gleitman of Psychology, Ronald Miller of Regional Science, Peter Conn of English, Dr. Alan Kors of History, Horst S. Daemmrich of German, Walter Wales of Physics, Lawrence Bernstein of Music, Robert Giegengack of Geology, Alan Filreis of English, and Paul Rozin of Psychology.


Almanac

April 9, 1996
Volume 42 Number 27


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