Awards, Prizes, & grants
The following prizes are awarded annually at the Department's graduation celebration held the Wednesday before Commencement. The Deadline in 2008 will be May 9th.
(Please note that the application deadline for the Philippe Wamba Summer Research Travel Grant for 2008 is April 28th.)
For more information on these awards, prizes, and grants please contact:
Kathleen Cloutier
Graduate and Undergraduate Program Officer
cloutier@fas.
tel: 617-384-7767
Theses Prizes
Kathryn Ann Huggins Prize
For the most outstanding thesis relating to African American life, history, or culture
Eligibility: All Thesis Writers in Harvard College.
This prize was established in 1987 by Kathryn Huggins’s brother, the late Professor Nathan I. Huggins, W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of History and of Afro-American Studies, to remember Kathryn by bringing attention to the values she held most dear: personal commitment and dedication to study, humanism through the study of other peoples and cultures, and respect for the marginalized and dispossessed. A prize of up to one thousand dollars is awarded to eht senior who has written the most outstanding thesis on a topic relating to African American life, history, or culture. All African and African American Studies concentrators are automatically eligible for this prize and do not need to submit additional copies of their theses for consideration. All other seniors must submit the application form, a copy of the thesis, a letter of recommendation from their thesis advisor, thesis reader comments, a one-page abstract of the thesis, and a C.V. to Kathleen Cloutier, Graduate and Undergraduate Program Officer, Room 232.
Dorothy Hicks Lee Prize
For the most outstanding thesis concerning African or African American literature
Eligibility: All Thesis Writers in Harvard College.
Established in 1995 by her daughter and son, this prize honors Dorothy Hicks Lee by bringing attention to her commitment to cross-cultural studies and to her gift for making students understand the ways in which literature is relevant to their lives. She was the first African American and the first woman to earn a Doctorate from the Comparative Literature Department of Harvard University. A prize of up to one thousand dollars will be awarded for the outstanding senior thesis submitted on the topic of African American literature. All African and African American Studies concentrators are automatically eligible for this prize and do not need to submit additional copies of their theses for consideration. All other seniors must submit the application form, a copy of the thesis, a letter of recommendation from their thesis advisor, thesis reader comments, a one-page abstract of the thesis, and a C.V. to Kathleen Cloutier, Graduate and Undergraduate Program Officer, Room 232.
Philippe Wamba Prize
Honors the best senior thesis in African Studies
Eligibility: All Concentrators.
A 1993 graduate of Harvard College, Philippe Wamba, in his short life, had a profound impact on his fellow students and the faculty of the African and African American Studies Department. Following his graduation, he soon returned to Harvard University where he became the Editor-in-Chief of Africana.com. Known for his remarkable personality as well as his outstanding intellectual capability, Philippe Wamba’s life is celebrated through this prize honoring the best senior thesis in African Studies. A prize of up to one thousand dollars will be awarded. All African and African American Studies concentrators are automatically eligible for this prize and do not need to submit additional copies of their theses for consideration. All other seniors must submit the application form, a copy of the thesis, a letter of recommendation from their thesis advisor, thesis reader comments, a one-page abstract of the thesis, and a C.V. to Kathleen Cloutier, Graduate and Undergraduate Program Officer, Room 232.
Awards for Academic Excellence
Cornel West Prize
Thesis on African American topic in addition to academic performance
Eligibility: African and African American Studies Concentrators.
In 2003, the Department of African and African American Studies instituted the first Cornel West Prize, named after the famed scholar who was an honored member of Harvard’s faculty until his departure in 2002. In addition to his important leadership and prolific scholarship, Cornel West earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard College, finishing his degree in an impressive three years. This cash award is to honor an African and African American Studies Senior who has displayed the best overall performance (as indicated by thesis and GPA) in the concentration.
Alain Locke Prize
Eligibility: African American Studies Concentrator.
This prize, established in 1993 by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., honors Alain LeRoy Locke, a member of the Harvard Class of 1908. He completed his undergraduate requirements in three years, graduating magna cum laude, and was the third African American recipient of a Harvard Ph.D. Locke is best known for his writing on literature and art and is referred to by some as the "godfather of the Harlem Renaissance." A prize of up to one thousand dollars is awarded to the most outstanding academic scholar among the graduating African American Studies Track concentrators.
Ephraim Isaac Prize for Excellence in African Studies
Eligibility: Harvard College Senior.
Inaugurated in academic year 1999–2000, the prize is named in honor of Ephraim Isaac, Director of the Institute of Semitic Studies, Princeton, New Jersey, and Visiting Professor of Religion and African American Studies at Princeton University. As the first faculty appointment in Harvard University’s fledgling Department of Afro-American Studies in 1969, Professor Isaac played an important role in the early history of the Department. Deeply committed to this emerging field of scholarship, Isaac continued as a Faculty member until 1977 and taught almost half of the students enrolled in the program during that time period. During his tenure at Harvard (1969–1977), Dr. Isaac was voted the best teacher each year by the students of the Department of Afro-American Studies. The Ephraim Isaac Prize for Excellence in African Studies is awarded annually to a graduating senior in the Department who has demonstrated overall excellence in African Studies (GPA and Thesis). Beginning in 2005, the prize will be awarded to the student who shows exceptional capability in African Languages.
Kwame Anthony Appiah Prize
Endowed by Henry Finder and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Eligibility: Senior Concentrator focusing on African topics
This prize was established in 2005 by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Henry Finder: the Kwame Anthony Appiah Prize, named for our distinguished colleague who served the Deparment from 1991-2002. Anthony Appiah is currently the Laurence S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy at Pinceton University. The premier philosopher in African and African American Studies, Professor Appiah also provided kind guidance to our students in his roles as Head Tutor and Director of Graudate Studies. This prize honors the African Studies Track Graduating Senior who has shown the best overall performance (as indicated by thesis and G.P.A.) in the concentration.
W. E. B. Du Bois Award
Eligibility: Senior Concentrator focusing on African topics.
Established in 2003, the Du Bois Prize is given to the graduating senior in African Studies with the hightest Grade Point Average. The first African American to be awarded a Ph.D. from Harvard University(1895), Du Bois attended in London the first Pan-African Congress (1900) and was elected Secretary of the organization. By 1962, Du Bois’s dedication to Africa culminated in his decision to become a citizen of Ghana. This award celebrates the connection between Du Bois and the African Continent.
Other Awards & Grants
Philippe Wamba Summer Research Travel Grant
Application Deadline: April 28, 2008
This grant was established in 2008 by Danny Rimer in memory of Philippe Wamba. This summer travel award is intended to support a Harvard undergraduate student carrying out field work or research in Africa . Preference is given to the student who most exemplifies the outstanding academic performance of Philippe Wamba. A 1993 graduate of Harvard College , Philippe Wamba, in his short life, had a profound impact on his fellow students and the faculty of the African and African American Studies Department. Following his graduation, he soon returned to Harvard University where he became the Editor-in-Chief of Africana.com.
Please use this link for more information on this grant.
Jonathan M. Levin Prize for Teaching and Social Justice
Eligibility: All Harvard College seniors pursuing careers as public school teachers.
This award, established by Martin D. Payson, Quincy Jones, and Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., honors Jonathan M. Levin, a compassionate and dedicated man committed to teaching as a means of combating the social injustices that exist in American society. The Department awards this prize, in two installments, to the most promising undergraduate student who intends to become a public school teacher. The first installment of one thousand dollars will be awarded at graduation and the remaining five hundred dollars will be awarded upon the successful completion of two years of public-school teaching. The recipient will be asked to write an essy on his/her experiences teaching in the public schools and submit this to the Department before he/she can accept the second installment. Applicants must submit a 1-2 page statement of purpose explaining their commitment and passion to teaching and how they will contribute to public school teaching or public service if they receive this award. They must also submit a resume, letter of faculty recommendation, and a letter of employment from Teach for America or from a public school, confirming teaching employment for the following year.
William Plummer French Prize
Eligibility: All concentrators regardless of class rank.
Established in 1997, this prize is in memory of William Plummer French who passed away on January 14, 1997. An avid bibliophile, French worked at the University Place Book Shop in New York City, which specialized in African American books. Self-educated through the books in the store, French became known to collectors, scholars, librarians, and fellow dealers as the most sophisticated and knowledgeable bibliographer of African Americana. A book prize is awarded to an undergraduate student from any academic department who has collected the best personal library focusing on some aspect of African or African American culture and history. For this prize, students must submit a bibliography of their African and/or African American library collection focusing on culture and history. This collection may include books and journals as well as film, music and other media. The Department reserves the right to audit this.
Reverend Peter J. Gomes Prize in Religion and Ethnicity
Eligibility: Harvard College Senior.
This prize is named for the Reverend Dr. Peter John Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, to honor the work and commitment he has made to Religious Studies, to the study of ethnicity and diversity, and to African and African American Studies. Established in 1995 as a celebration of Gomes’s twenty-fifth year of service to Harvard University, this prize is awarded annually to the Harvard College senior who has demonstrated social responsibility through public service and potential for distinguished contributions to the public good.
Andrew Ramroop Prize
Eligibility: Senior Concentrator in African and African American Studies.
The Andrew Ramroop Prize was inaugurated in 2003 in order to honor an undergraduate in the Department of African and African American Studies who best exemplifies the values of the Department. Mr. Ramroop is an entrepreneur whose company, Maurice Sedwell, offers hand-cut, hand-made, and hand-tailored suits, one of which is given to the student winning this award.
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