History Faculty Award Recipients
Ohio State University Awards
Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching
The Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching is Ohio State University's most eminent teaching prize. Nominations are solicited from present and former students and colleagues, and a committee of alumni, students, and faculty selects the winners. Each year, ten Alumni Award winners are chosen from among the university's 8,000-some faculty. Bestowal of the award includes automatic admission into the university's Academy of Teaching, which provides leadership in the mission of providing excellent instruction across campus.
As a community of scholars who value excellence in teaching, the Department of History is proud of its faculty who have won the Alumni Award:
- 2025 - Yigit Akin and Margaret Sumner
- 2022 - Theodora Dragostinova
- 2018 - Greg Anderson and Bart Elmore
- 2015 - Robin Judd
- 2013 - David Hoffman
- 2012 - Hasan Kwame Jefferies
- 2011 - Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Lilia Fernández, and Scott Levi
- 2010 - Kevin Boyle and Richard D. Shiels
- 2009 - Randolph Roth and David H. Steigerwald
- 2008 - Leslie M. Alexander
- 2006 - Geoffrey Parker
- 2005 - Mitchell Lerner
- 2002 - Judy Tzu-Chun Wu
- 2000 - Alan D. Beyerchen, Allison B. Gilmore, and R. Vladimir Steffel
- 1999 - Mark Grimsley
- 1987 - Williamson Murray
- 1986 - Bradley Chapin
- 1984 - Jack M. Balcer and Leila J. Rupp
- 1983 - Frederick C. Dahlstrand and Allan R. Millett
- 1978 - Joseph H. Lynch and Merritt Roe Smith
- 1976 - Robert H. Bremner
- 1972 - Robert L. Chazan
- 1965 - William F. McDonald
- 1963 - Harold J. Grimm
College of Arts and Sciences Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Award
Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Awards honors full professor colleagues who have excelled in teaching, service and research/creative activity, and whose work has demonstrated significant impact on their fields, students, college and university and/or the public.
- 2025 - Robin Judd
- 2024 - Peter Hahn
- 2023 - Christopher Otter
- 2022 - Margaret Newell
- 2021 - Randolph Roth
- 2019 - Alice Conklin
- 2018 - Jane Hathaway
- 2017 - David Hoffmann
College of Arts and Sciences Arts and Sciences Diversity Enhancement Faculty Award
The Diversity Enhancement Faculty Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments by faculty whose research, teaching and service promote diversity and support a culture that exhibits inclusive excellence, community and openness.
- 2025 - Ousman Kobo
- 2024 - Margaret Newell
- 2023 - Nicholas Breyfogle
- 2022 - Alcira Dueñas
- 2021 - Clayton Howard
- 2020 - John Brooke and Stephanie Shaw for the 1619 and Beyond Seminar Series
- 2019 - Alice Conklin
- 2018 - Hasan Kwame Jeffries
- 2015 - Lilia Fernandez
- 2008 - Faculty of Color Caucus
- 2006 - Lucy Murphy
College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award (presented by the Arts and Sciences Student Council)
The Outstanding Teaching Award recognizes a College of Arts and Sciences faculty member for excellence in teaching. This award is unique in that the entire award process is administered by the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council, and only undergraduate students may submit nominations for this award.
- 2023 - Bart Elmore
- 2019 - Hasan Kwame Jeffries
- 2017 - David Steigerwald
- 2013 - Randy Roth
- 2008 - Greg Anderson
- 2005 - James Bartholomew
- 1983 - Jack Balcer
- 1959 - Harvey Goldberg
- 1957 - Foster Rhea Dulles
- 1955 - Paul A. Varg
- 1951 - Harold J. Grimm
College of Humanities (1968-2010)
Humanities Distinguished Professor of History
- 2004 - Carole Fink
Distinguished Scholar Award (Office of Academic Affairs)
- 2026 - David Hoffmann
- 2024 - Sara Butler
- 2020 - Margaret Newell
- 2018 - Jane Hathaway
- 2016 - Alice Conklin
- 2011 - Timothy Gregory
- 2009 - Stephen Dale
- 2007 - Carole Fink
- 2001 - Leila Rupp
- 2000 - Carter Findley
- 1997 - Joseph Lynch
Distinguished University Professor Award (Office of Academic Affairs)
- 2025 - Peter Hahn
- 2007 - Geoffrey Parker
- 2000 - Joseph Lynch
Faculty-to-Faculty Mentorship Awards (Office of Academic Affairs)
This university‑wide award recognizes faculty who go beyond traditional expectations by investing time, expertise and care into guiding peers in their professional growth, scholarly development and overall success.
- 2026 - Nick Breyfogle
Graduate Faculty Mentor Award (Graduate School)
- 2025 - David Hoffmann
Harlan Hatcher Arts and Sciences Distinguished Faculty Award
Harlan Hatcher Arts and Sciences Distinguished Faculty Award recognizes a full professor who has a truly exceptional record in teaching, research and service. The award was established with gifts from Mrs. Anne Hatcher and her family from Ann Arbor, Michigan, in honor and memory of Dr. Harlan Hatcher, an alumnus and former dean of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University.
- 2026 - Mytheli Sreenivas
- 2019 - Margaret Newell
- 2014 - Jane Hathaway
- 2007 - Geoffrey Parker
Honors Faculty Service Award (ASC)
The Honors Faculty Service Award recognizes excellence in honors advising, honors instruction, honors committee work and other honors initiatives and responsibilities which have enhanced the quality of education available to honors students in the liberal arts.
- 2026 - Alice Conklin
- 2025 - Mitchell Lerner
- 2023 - Thomas McDow
- 2022 - Robin Judd
- 2019 - J. Albert Harrill
- 1998 - K. Austin Kerr
Joseph Sullivant Medal (Awarded quinquennially)
- 2021 - Geoffrey Parker
- 1980 - Robert H. Bremner
- 1930 - Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr.
Mid-Career Faculty Excellence Award
The Mid-Career Faculty Excellence Award recognizes outstanding performance in all three areas of research, teaching and service of mid-career faculty at the time of promotion.
- 2026 - Elizabeth Dillenburg
- 2024 - Robin Judd
- 2023 - Heather Tanner
- 2020 - Christopher Otter
Paul W. Brown Excellence in Teaching Award (ASC)
The Paul W. Brown Excellence in Teaching Award in English and History recognizes a faculty member in the Department of English and a faculty member in the Department of History for teaching excellence.
- 2026 - Hasan Jeffries
- 2025 - Tryntje Helfferich
- 2024 - Sarah Van Beurden
- 2023 - Clayton Howard
- 2022 - Margaret Sumner
- 2021 - Jennifer Eaglin
- 2020 - Stephanie Smith
- 2019 - Mytheli Sreenivas
- 2018 - Ying Zhang
- 2017 - Theodora Dragostinova
- 2016 - Birgitte Søland
- 2015 - Stanley Blake
- 2014 - Dodie McDow
- 2013 - Kristina Sessa
- 2012 - Greg Anderson
- 2011 - Nate Rosenstein
- 2010 - Chris Otter
President's and Provost's Award for Distinguished Faculty Service (Office of Academic Affairs)
- 2025 - Mitchell Lerner
- 1999 - Susan Hartmann
Rodica C. Botoman Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring in Humanities (ASC)
The Rodica C. Botoman Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring supports a member of the humanities faculty who exemplifies excellence teaching undergraduates. While the emphasis is on outstanding performance in the classroom, the selection committee also considers the nominee's performance as a mentor or advisor and use of innovative teaching strategies for the advancement of learning.
- 2025 - María Hammack
- 2024 - Margaret Sumner
- 2023 - Geoffrey Parker
- 2022 - Thomas McDow
- 2017 - Randy Roth
- 2009 - Robin Judd
- 1999 - Alan Beyerchen
- 1997 - Mark Grimsley
Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Award (ASC)
The Ratner Awards recognize faculty who demonstrate creative teaching and extraordinary records of engaging, motivating and inspiring students. Each Ratner Award winner receives a $10,000 cash prize, as well as a $15,000 teaching account to fund future projects.
In 2014, Ronald and Deborah Ratner gave $1 million to establish the Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Awards. Ronald Ratner, of RMS Investment Group, is also the former director and executive vice president of development for Forest City Realty Trust Inc. He served on the Ohio State Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2015, having been appointed by former Gov. Ted Strickland. Deborah B. Ratner founded ArtWorks, a Cleveland-based arts apprenticeship program, and Reel Women Direct, an award for women film directors.
- 2024 - Elizabeth Bond
- 2022 - Bart Elmore
- 2021 - Ousman Kobo
- 2020 - David Hoffmann
- 2019 - Theodora Dragostinova
- 2018 - Robin Judd
- 2017 - Mytheli Sreenivas
- 2017 - Alison Beach
Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award (ASC)
The Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award is given annually to a faculty member, staff member or student who has demonstrated outstanding mentoring to and/or leadership on behalf of women or other historically underrepresented groups at the university.
- 2025 - Alyssa Reynolds
- 2022 - Ousman Kobo
- 2020 - Heather Tanner
- 2018 - Daniel Rivers
University Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award (presented by the Office of Human Resources)
- 2023 - Kent "Kip" Curtis
- 2018 - Stephanie Shaw2019 - Stephanie Shaw
- 2009 - Lucy Murphy and Dick Shiels for the Newark Earthworks Center
- 2008 - Faculty of Color Caucus
- 2007 - Judy Wu
- 1998 - DIOP
External (Non-Ohio State) Awards
Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, Paris
Gustave Chaix d’Est Ange Award
- 2004 - Bruno Cabanes
La Victoire endeuillée (Seuil, 2004)
American Council of Learned Societies
ACLS Fellowship
- 2025 - Theodora Dragostinova
American Historical Association
Award for Lifetime Scholarly Distinction
- 2023 - Geoffrey Parker
American Historical Association
George Louis Beer Prize
- 2005 - Carole Fink
Defending the Rights of Others: The Great Powers, The Jews, and International Minority Protection, 1878-1938 (Cambridge University Press, 2004) - 1985 - Carole Fink
The Genoa Conference: European Diplomacy, 1921-22 (University of North Carolina Press, 1984; reprinted by Syracuse University Press, 1993) - Mike Hogan
American Historical Association
Herbert Feis Award
- 2022 - Nicholas Breyfogle
American Historical Association
Paul Birdsall Prize in European Military and Strategic History
- 2016 - Bruno Cabanes
The Great War and the Origins of Humanitarianism, 1918-1924 (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
American Library Association (ALA)
Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Title
American Society of Criminology
Distinguished Scholar Award
- 2022 - Randolph Roth
Association for the Study of Nationalities and Harriman Institute, Columbia University
The Joseph Rothschild Prize in Nationalism and Ethnic Studies
- 2012 - Theodora Dragostinova (honorable mention)
Between Two Motherlands: Nationality and Emigration among the Greeks of Bulgaria,1900-1949 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2011)
Association of Women in Slavic Studies
The Heldt Prize
Awarded for the for best book by a woman-identifying scholar in any area of Slavic, East European, or Eurasian Studies
- 2022 - Theodora Dragostinova (honorable mention)
The Cold War from the Margins: A Small Socialist State on the Global Cultural Scene (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2021)
British Academy Medal
- 2014 - Geoffrey Parker
Awarded for landmark scholarly achievement which has transformed understanding of a particular subject or field of study.
Bulgarian Studies Association
The John D. Bell Memorial Book Prize
- 2023 - Theodora Dragostinova (co-winner)
The Cold War from the Margins: A Small Socialist State on the Global Cultural Scene (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2021)
Dan David Prize
The largest history prize in the world.
- 2022 - Bart Elmore
European University Institute, Florence, Italy
Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow
- 2023 - Theodora Dragostinova
Foundation for Pacifist Quest
Akira Iriye Prize
- 2005 - Carole Fink
Defending the Rights of Others: The Great Powers, the Jews and International Minority Protection, 1878-1938 (Cambridge University Press, 2004)
Awarded for the best book in international history.
H. F. Guggenheim Award
- 2001 - Geoffrey Parker
Heineken Prize for History
Awarded every two years to the scholar "deemed to have had the greatest impact on the profession."
- 2012 - Geoffrey Parker
Henkel Foundation, Germany
Research Award
- 2020 - Carole Fink
J. S. Guggenheim Award
- 2002 - Geoffrey Parker
Modern Greek Studies Association
The Edmund Keeley Book Prize
- 2012 - Theodora Dragostinova (honorable mention)
Between Two Motherlands: Nationality and Emigration among the Greeks of Bulgaria,1900-1949 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2011)
NEH Award
- 2014 - Geoffrey Parker
Ohio Academy of History
Distinguished Historian Award
- 2026 - Bruno Cabanes
- 2022 - Geoffrey Parker
- 2018 - Timothy Gregory
- 2017 - Susan Hartmann
- 2015 - Jane Hathaway
- 2007 - Stephen Kern
- 2005 - Mansel Blackford
Ohio Academy of History
Publication Award
The Publication Award is given “to an active member of the Academy” for an “outstanding publication in the field of history issued in the year preceding the annual meeting.”
- 2026 - Jim Harris and Joe Parrott
- 2020 - Geoffrey Parker
- 2019 - Joan Cashin
- 2018 - Sam White
- 2014 - Daniel Rivers (Junior Faculty Award)
- 2014 - Alice Conklin
- 2012 - John Brooke
- 2011 - Carter Findley
- 2007 - David Stebenne
- 2006 - Nicholas Breyfogle
- 2005 - Jane Hathaway
- 1995 - David Hoffmann
- 1994 - John Burnham
- 1993 - Raymond Dominick
- 1990 - Carter Findley
- 1988 - Michael Hogan
- 1987 - Joseph Lynch
Ohio Academy of History
Teaching Award
According to Article VII, Section 3 of the Academy Constitution, the Teaching Award is intended to “recognize excellence in the teaching of history.”
- 2026 - Birgitte Søland
- 2025 - Margaret Sumner
- 2024 - Heather Tanner
- 2023 - Sara Butler
- 2020 - Lucy Murphy
- 2019 - Robin Judd
- 2018 - Mitch Lerner
- 2014 - Greg Anderson
- 2007 - Randy Roth
- 1999 - Alan Beyerchen
- 1995 - Leila Rupp
The Royal Historical Society, UK
First Book Prize (formerly the Whitfield Prize)
- 2025 - Laura Flannigan
Royal Justice and the Making of the Tudor Commonwealth, 1485-1547
The Society for French Historical Studies
David H. Pinkney Prize
- 2022 - Elizabeth Bond
The Writing Public: Participatory Knowledge Production in Enlightenment and Revolutionary France - 2014 - Alice Conklin
In the Museum of Man: Race, Anthropology, and Empire in France, 1850-1950 (Cornell University Press, 2013)
The Society for the History of Technology
Dexter Prize
- 1990 - Geoffrey Parker
Awarded for the "best book" in the field published 1987-90.
The Society for Military History
Distinguished Book Prize
- 2014 - Geoffrey Parker
Global Crisis: War, Climate Change, & Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century
Awarded for non-US military history book.
The Society for Military History
Samuel Eliot Morison Prize
- 1999 - Geoffrey Parker
Conferred by the Society for Military History for contributions to the field of military history.
The World War One Historical Association (WW1HA)
The Tomlinson Book Prize
Turkish Social Science Association
Distinguished Young Social Scientist Award
Membership in Learned Societies, Honorary Degrees, Etc.
American Historical Review
Associate Review Editor and Member of the Editorial Board
- 2023-2026 - Theodora Dragostinova
American Philosophical Society
- 2026 - Geoffrey Parker
Association for Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies
Member-at-Large, Board of Directors
- 2020-2023 - Theodora Dragostinova (elected)
Casa of the Black Seminole Diaspora of Coahuila, Mexico
Key to the Comunidad Negros Mascogos
- 2025 - María Hammack
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2017 - Geoffrey Parker
Fellow of the British Academy
- 1984 - Geoffrey Parker
Fellow of the Real Academia Hispano-Americana de Ciencias, Artes y Letras, Cádiz, Spain
- 2004 - Geoffrey Parker
Foreign Member of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen
(Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences)
- 2005 - Geoffrey Parker
Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Universidad de Burgos
- 2010 - Geoffrey Parker
Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Vrije Universiteit, Brussels
- 1990 - Geoffrey Parker
International Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
- 2016 - Geoffrey Parker
Knighthood Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X el Sabio conferred by the Prime Minister of Spain
- 1996 - Geoffrey Parker
Knighthood Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica conferred by His Majesty the King of Spain
- 1992 - Geoffrey Parker
Member of the American Philosophical Society
- 2023 - Geoffrey Parker
National Endowment for the Humanities
- 2025-26 - Alcira Dueñas
University of Sydney
Mandelbaum Distinguished Chair in History
- 2025 - Carole Fink