Philip Merrill Award
The Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education honors individuals who advance liberal arts education, core curricula, and the teaching of Western civilization and American history.
The Award is named in honor of Philip Merrill, a distinguished public servant, publisher, businessman, and philanthropist who served as a trustee of Cornell University, the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, the Aspen Institute, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Throughout his career, Mr. Merrill was an outspoken proponent of academic excellence and an articulate spokesman for the importance of historical literacy in a free society. Mr. Merrill was also a charter member of ACTA's national council. The Award is intended to recognize outstanding individuals for extraordinary achievement in promoting liberal arts education.
Selection
A Selection Committee composed of distinguished educational and civic leaders advises on the selection of the nominee. Nominations are solicited both through The Chronicle of Higher Education and letters to prominent individuals. Those eligible for the award include distinguished writers and scholars, college and university professors and administrators, government officials, and public-spirited citizens, who have demonstrated a significant dedication to the advancement of liberal arts education.
In 2010, the Selection Committee is composed of: Donald Kagan, professor of history at Yale University and winner of the fourth Merrill Award; Alan Kors, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania; Hans Mark, former chancellor and professor of engineering at the University of Texas—Austin; Martin Peretz, editor-in-chief of The New Republic; Abigail Thernstrom, member of the Massachusetts State Board of Education; James Q. Wilson, Medal of Freedom winner and professor of public policy at Pepperdine University; and Gordon Wood, professor of history at Brown University.
Presentation
The award will be bestowed at the annual dinner held in conjunction with ACTA’s ATHENA Roundtable on November 5, 2010 at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia. ATHENA is an important and influential forum for issues on higher education and draws a national audience of prominent citizens, college and university trustees, alumni, and education leaders from around the country.
Recipients
2010 - Benno Schmidt, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (CUNY).
2009 - Robert David “KC” Johnson, professor of history at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center.
2008 - Donald Kagan, Sterling Professor of History and Classics at Yale University.
2007 - Gertrude Himmelfarb, professor emeritus of history at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
2006 - Harvey C. Mansfield, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University.
2005 - Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in America Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.
For a copy of the Nomination Form, please click here.