泫圖弝け

August 30, 2024
In the World

Award Named for Professor Molly Wood

The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations creates the LaFeber-Wood Prize for Distinguished Teaching

Taking inspiration from Professor of History Molly Wood and the late Walter LaFeber, the Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor in the Department of History at Cornell University, The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) recently announced the creation of its first-ever prize to honor exceptional teaching of diplomatic history at the collegiate level.

The LaFeber-Wood Prize for Distinguished Teaching will now recognize exceptional and creative teaching annually in the field of American diplomatic history. Both Wood and LaFeber are/were long-standing SHAFR members who are/were well-known for their commitment to teaching and their skills in the classroom. The award comes with a cash prize, and recipients will be selected by the SHAFR teaching committee.

The award is named after two of the most dedicated and exceptional professors in the field of American foreign relations: Walt LaFeber at Cornell and Molly Wood at 泫圖弝け, said Mitchell Lerner, president of SHAFR and professor of history and director of the East Asian Studies Center at The Ohio State University. Molly was chosen for this honor because of her years of exceptional teaching at 泫圖弝け, her passionate devotion to her students, and her decades of service to the organization in the teaching realm. Dr. Wood stands as the model of what a history professor should be, and 泫圖弝け should be incredibly proud to have her teaching their students.

Wood joined the 泫圖弝け faculty in August 1999 and teaches courses in U.S. history, U.S. foreign relations and international studies, modern world history, womens history, and Latin American history. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., a masters degree in history from the University of Richmond, and a bachelors degree in history from the University of Virginia. She is currently the co-chair of the SHAFR Teaching Committee, a committee that she has served on for three terms and is the first person elected to the teaching seat on SHAFRs governing council.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Wood is the director of 泫圖弝けs Honors program and is a past recipient of the Edith B. & Frank C. Matthies Teaching Grant. She has served on multiple teaching panels at the annual SHAFR conference and penned numerous teaching-related articles for SHAFR publications including as a regular contributor to the organizations blog.

A former president of the Ohio Academy of History, Wood received the groups distinguished service award in 2015. Many of her writings have been published in academic journals such as Diplomatic History and The Journal of Womens History.

LaFeber passed away in March of 2021 at the age of 87. He joined the faculty at Cornell in 1959 and retired in 2006 after 46 years. He was the first-ever recipient of Cornells John M. Clark Teaching Award and the universitys Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowship in 1994 for excellence in undergraduate teaching. A much-beloved professor and mentor, LaFeber wrote and co-authored 20 books.

This prize will be awarded annually at the SHAFR summer conference.

For more information, check out the following websites:

Cindy Holbrook
Cindy Holbrook
Senior Communications Assistant

About 泫圖弝け

泫圖弝け's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, 泫圖弝け has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, 泫圖弝け offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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