Each year the department recognizes majors who have excelled in the classroom and beyond. We are extremely proud of the achievements of our students, and we want to acknowledge those who won awards.
Herbert Pickens Gambrell Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement
This award is given in honor of the late Professor and historian Herbert Pickens Gambrell (SMU class of 1921), who was the founder of SMU press, the first managing editor of the Southwest Review, and a leader in various organizations including Dallas Historical Society, Texas Historical Association, and the Texas Institute of Letters.
Recipients of the Herbert Pickens Gambrell Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement:
2020 Madeline Dixon and Amanda Oh
2019 Brittany Peterson
2018 Mara Pitcher
2016 Anthony (A.J.) Jeffries and Courtney Tibbetts
2015 Victoria Penrose
2014 Brandon Bub and Caroline Dillard
2013 Erin Hoya
2012 Jessica Koch
2011 Jasia Mahdi
2010 Ryan Meyer
The Stanton Sharp Award for Outstanding Service and Academic Achievement
This award is named in honor of Stanton Sharp, the son of our long-time benefactor, the late Ruth Sharp Altshuler and the former chairwomen of the SMU Board of Trustees.
Recipients of the Stanton Sharp Award for Outstanding Service and Academic Achievement:
2020 Barrett Stout and Thomas Park
2019 Cheyenne Murray
2018 Karen Folz and Adam Sanchez
2016 Hope Anderson
2015 Brett Fox
2014 Savannah Stephens
2013 Patrick Doucette and Anna Skrivanek
2012 Adriana Martinez
2011 Jordan Johansen
2010 Shelby Justl
Jacobus Junior Paper Prize in History
The award, which has been given since 1993, was renamed the Henry S. Jacobus Junior Paper Prize in History in 1998 to honor long-time friend of SMU and history enthusiast and benefactor, Henry S. Jacobus, Jr. After retiring as a respected member of the Dallas business community, Mr. Jacobus began auditing History courses at SMU, becoming a good friend to professors and students alike. We wish to honor Henry, who died in 1998, by identifying his name with this very important area of scholarly endeavor and achievement.
Recipients of the Henry Jacobus Junior Paper Prize in History:
2020 Madeline Dixon "The Weimar Republic and the War of Memory"
2019 Amanda Oh, “The Latitudinarian Influence on Early English Liberalism”
2018 Adam Sanchez, “Weimar German Catholicism: The Struggle for Relevance”
2016 Margaret Pitcher, “Fever Medicine and the Medical Lobby: Role of Typhus in the Great Famine”
2015 Brandy Spencer, “Reading English Restoration Era Recipe Books”
2014 Brandon Roselius, “Roman Egypt through Oxyrhynchus”
2014 Caroline Dillard