May 2015

Jon Butler begins term as 2015-16 OAH president

BLOOMINGTON, IN—Jon Butler, the Howard R. Lamar Professor Emeritus of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies at Yale University, began his term as the 2015-16 president of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) on April 18.

Outgoing 2014–15 OAH President Patty Limerick passed the ceremonial gavel to Butler after concluding the group’s annual business meeting last month in St. Louis. Butler is the 109th historian to have held the post.

In Memoriam: Peter Gay

Peter Gay, a German-born historian whose sense of intellectual adventure led him to write groundbreaking books on the Enlightenment, the Victorian middle classes, Sigmund Freud, Weimar culture and the cultural situation of Jews in Germany, died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 91.  Read the complete article at the New York Times website.

Stuart Schwartz awarded the Gustav Ranis International Book Prize for Sea of Storms

Stuart Schwartz has been awarded the Gustav Ranis International Book Prize for his new book, Sea of Storms:  A History of Hurricanes in the Greater Caribbean from Columbus to Katrina (Princeton University Press, 2015).  The book examines “the ethical, political, and economic challenges that hurricanes posed to the Caribbean’s indigenous populations and the different European peoples who ventured to the New World to exploit its riches.

Naomi Lamoreaux receives Graduate Mentor Award

The Graduate Mentor Award recognizes faculty members who have been exceptional in their support of the professional, scholarly and personal development of their students. 

Each year, the selection committee receives scores of letters from graduate students nominating outstanding mentors all over campus.

It is a great pleasure to announce and congratulate the 2015 recipients of the Graduate School’s Graduate Mentor Award:

Social Sciences: Naomi Lamoreaux
Humanities: Verity Harte
Sciences: Hal Blumenfeld