Awards, Prizes, and Events

In addition to administration of the undergraduate curriculum, the Office of Undergraduate Education administers a few prizes, awards, and events. For information about prizes not listed here, please visit the Prize Office.

The Detur Book Prize is one of the oldest prizes at Harvard College. It recognizes sophomores who attained very high academic standing in their first three semesters at the College (prior to starting in a concentration) and honors them with a book of their choice.  To qualify, a student must be enrolled and in good standing for both terms of their first year, as well as the first term of their sophomore year. 

The Prize has its origins in the bequest of Edward Hopkins (1600-1657), an early governor of Connecticut, to Harvard College and the neighboring Cambridge grammar school “to give some Encouragement unto those foreign Plantations for the breeding up of Hopeful youth in the way of Learning…for the publick Service of the Country in future times.” The name “Detur” comes from the Latin detur digniori, “to the more worthy let it be given.”

The books chosen by the prize recipients are embossed with the Harvard and Detur seals and presented to the students at a ceremony hosted by the Dean of the College early in the spring term.

The Office of Undergraduate Education manages the selection process for two sets of undergraduate teaching awards, the Harvard College Professorships and the Roslyn Abramson Awards.

Each year, between four and six senior faculty in FAS are selected as Harvard College Professors on the basis of their dedication to educating undergraduate students and helping them develop their intellectual passions. Harvard College Professorships are five-year appointments, begun in 1997 through a gift of John and Frances Loeb. They provide faculty with extra support for research or scholarly activities, a semester of paid leave or summer salary.

Two Roslyn Abramson Awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching are given out each year to junior faculty in FAS. The award, which includes a monetary prize, was established with a gift from Edward Abramson ’57 in honor of his mother. It is given in recognition of “excellence and sensitivity in teaching undergraduates.” Recipients are chosen on the basis of their ability to communicate with and inspire undergraduates, their accessibility, and their dedication to teaching.

Harvard College Professors                           Roslyn Abramson Awards

2020
Katia Bertoldi (SEAS)
Glenda Carpio (ENGL & AAAS)
Cassandra Extavour (OEB & MCB)
David S. Jones (HISTSCI & HMS)
James Robson (EALC)
 
2019

Paola Arlotta (SCRB)
Suzannah Clark (Music)
Edward Hall (Philosophy)
Edward Kohler (Computer Science)
Matthew Nock (Psychology)

 

2018

Robin Bernstein (WGS/Sociology)
Lawrence Bobo (AAAS/Sociology)
George Lauder (OEB)
Yukio Lippit (HAA)
Amy Wagers (SCRB)

 

2017

Amanda Claybaugh (English)
Melissa Franklin (Physics)
Gonzalo Giribet (OEB)
Marko Lončar (SEAS)
Tommie Shelby (AAAS)

 
2016

David Charbonneau (Astronomy)
Marla Frederick (AAAS and Religion)
Shigehisa Kuriyama (EALC and History of Science)
Ann Pearson (EPS)
Salil P. Vadhan (SEAS)

2015

Maya R. Jasanoff (History)
Elena M. Kramer (OEB)
Louis Menand (English)
Robb Moss (VES)
Evelyn Hu (SEAS)

2014

Mahzarin R. Banaji (Psychology)
David Cutler (Economics)

Hopi Hoekstra (OEB)
Melissa McCormick (EALC)
Greg Morrisett (SEAS)
 
2013
Joseph D. Harris (Math)
Steven R. Levitsky (Government)
Michael Puett (EALC)
Jennifer L. Roberts (HAA)
Maryellen Ruvolo (HEB)

2012 
Diana Eck (Religion)
Jorie Graham (English)
Daniel Kahne (CCB)
Jill Lepore (Hist)
David Parkes (SEAS)

2011 
Benedict Gross (Math)
Farish Jenkins (OEB)
Arthur Kleinman (Anthro)
Elaine Scarry (English)
Alison Simmons (Phil)

2010 
Michael Brenner (SEAS)
Julie Buckler (Slavic)
Emma Dench (Class/Hist)
Peter Gordon (Hist)
Daniel Lieberman (HEB)

2009 
Ann Blair (Hist)
Janet Browne (Hist Sci)
Christopher Stubbs (Physics)
Richard Thomas (Classics)

2008 
Virginie Greene (RLL)
David Laibson (Econ)
Douglas Melton (MCB)
Steven Pinker (Psychology)
John Shaw (EPS)
James Simpson (English)

2007 
Luis Fernandez-Cifuentes (RLL)
David Haig (OEB)
Jennifer Hochschild (Gov, AAAS)
David Liu (CCB)
Peter Marsden (Soc)

2006 
John Campbell (Econ)
John Coatsworth (Hist)
Leah Price (Eng)
Richard Wrangham (Bio Anth)

2005 
Philip Fisher (Engl)
Howard Georgi (Phys)
Daniel Gilbert (Psych)
Caroline Hoxby (Econ)
Lino Pertile (RLL)
Margo Seltzer (DEAS)

2004 
Emmanuel Akyeampong (Hist)
Anne Harrington (Hist)
Robert P. Kirshner (Astron)
Ewa Lajer-Burcharth (HAA)

2003 
Kathleen Coleman (Classics)
James Kloppenberg (Hist)
Harry Lewis (DEAS)
James Watson (Anthro)
Ruth Wisse (NELC)

2002 
Jeremy Bloxham (EPS)
Marc Hauser (Psych)
William Mills Todd (Slavic)
Stephen Rosen (Govt)

2001 
Leo Damrosch (English)
Peter Galison (HistSci)
Robert Kiely (English)
Stuart Shieber (DEAS)
Laurel Ulrich (Hist)
Gregory Verdine (Chem)

2000 
William Gienapp (Hist)
Peter Hall (Govt)
Jay Harris (NELC)
Thomas Kelly (Music)
Richard Losick (MCB)
Howard Stone (DEAS)
Maria Tatar (German)

1999
Peter Bol (EALC)
John Dowling (MCB)
Eric Mazur (DEAS)
Michael Sandel (Govt)
R.J. Tarrant (Classics)
Mary Waters (Sociology)

1998 
Lawrence Buell (English)
Jorge Dominguez (Govt)
Peter Ellison (Anthro)
Eric Jacobsen (Chem)
Judith Ryan (German)

 

 

 

2020

Jie Li (EALC)

Brandon Terry (AAAS & SOC-STD)

 

2019
Ya-Chieh Hsu (SCRB)
Durba Mitra (WGS)

 

2018
Derek Miller (English)
Elizabeth Hinton (History & AAAS)

2017
David Cox (MCB/Comp Sci) 
Lorgia García Pen͂a (RLL/Hist and Lit)

2016
Kirsten Weld (History) 
Leah Whittington (English)

2015
Ruth Bielfeldt (Humanities) 
Sarah S. Richardson (Social Sciences)

2014
Stacey Combes (OEB)

Arthur Spirling (Gov)

2013
Selim Berker (Philosophy)

Joshua Greene (Psychology) 

2012 
Eric Beerbohm (Gov)
Jenny Hoffman (Physics)

2011 
Kevin Eggan (SCRB)
David Elmer (Classics)

2010 
Maya Jasanoff (Hist)
Tobias Ritter (CCB)

2009 
Matthew Kaiser (Eng)
Carrie Lambert-Beatty (HAA)

2008 
Lisa Brooks (Hist & Lit/Folk)
David Parkes (SEAS)

2007 
Glenda Carpio (AAAS, Eng)
Alison Frank (Hist)

2006 
Cedric Boeckx (Ling)
Robin Kelsey (HAA)

2005 
Matthew Nock (Psych)
Jennifer Roberts (HAA)

2004 
Lynn Festa (English)
Steven R. Levitsky (Soc Std)

2003 
Sharon Krause (Govt)
David Liu (Chem)

2002 
Eileen Chow (EALC)
Russell Muirhead (Govt)

2001 
Michael Blake (Phil)
Eric Robinson (Classics/Hist)

2000 
Melissa Barry (Phil)
Glyn Morgan (Govt)

1999 
Jesse Matz (English)
Margo Seltzer (DEAS)

1998 
Andrew Metrick (Econ)
Louise Richardson (Govt)

1997 
James Engell (English)

1996 
Christopher Killip (VES)
James Hankins (Hist)

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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