This prize is offered in alternating years. The next time it will be awarded is 2012.
This award seeks to perpetuate the legacy and memory of a founder of the public history movement, Dr. Robert Kelley. It honors distinguished and outstanding achievements by individuals, institutions, non-profit or corporate entities for having made significant inroads in making history relevant to individual lives of ordinary people outside of academia.
The Kelley Award consists of a $500 cash award and framed certificate. It will be presented at the NCPH annual meeting. Award winners also receive complimentary registration for the awards luncheon.
Individuals or organizational entities may be considered for the award.
a) Individuals may be nominated based on their achievements and specific contributions to the public history movement, usually over a sustained period of time.
Evidence of scholarly excellence must be combined with two or more of the following: (1) sustained service to NCPH in an appointed and/or elected capacity; (2) demonstrated innovation in teaching and/or development of institutional training programs; (3) creativity as evidenced through the development of teaching and/or educational “outreach: materials; (4) a singular achievement (i.e. a motion picture, major exhibit, or a well-recognized book) that significantly contributes to the general public’s understanding and appreciation of history; and/or (5) a distinguished record of creating, administering, or managing an undergraduate or graduate public history program at an institution of learning.
b) Institutions, colleges and university departments of history, non-profit, corporate or other organizational entities may be nominated based on the institution’s achievements and specific contributions in advancing the cause of public history, usually over a sustained period of time.
Evidence of program excellence must be combined with two or more of the following in evaluating the contribution of each nominated institution: (1) innovative excellence in the training of public historians (either at an undergraduate or graduate level) as evidenced by a quality public history curriculum and/or success in placement and accomplishments of graduates in public history related jobs; (2) sustained commitment to the development of scholarly or other educational or teaching materials relating to the field of public history; (3) sponsorship and/or delivery of high quality training courses, conferences or educational outreach to the public or the public history community; (4) an outstanding record of public outreach programs (i.e. mass media, exhibitory, lecture series) that advance the appreciation of public history; and (5) demonstrated commitment to the value of expanding the public’s knowledge and appreciation of history in the institutional or corporate setting.
Procedures and Submission Requirements
1. Nominations should be submitted in the form of a written narrative not to exceed 1,500 words (typed).
2. Nominations should include pertinent supporting documents, including a copy of the nominee’s resume or curriculum vitae if available, plus a minimum of two and a maximum of five letters of support and a cover sheet.
3. A total of four copies of all submission materials are required. Send a cover sheet and a copy of all materials to each of the Kelley Award Committee members and one to the NCPH execuitve office at: NCPH, 327 Cavanaugh Hall – IUPUI, 425 University Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46202. Clearly mark each submission, “NCPH Kelley Award.” If emailed, nominations must be sent in one complete document (MS Word or a PDF).
Submissions are not currently being accepted for this biannual award.
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Past Award Winners 2010-Richard Allan Baker, United States Senate Historical Office 2008-Alan S. Newell, Historical Research Associates, Inc. 2006-Dwight T. Pitcaithley, National Park Service 2004-The Government and Citizens of the Tr’ondek Hwech’in, First Native Peoples of the Klondike 2002-The University of South Carolina Public History Program 2001-Debra Bernhardt, Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University 1999-Otis L.Graham Jr., University of North Carolina, Wilmington 1998-The American Social History Project First time presented in 1997 to Page Putnam Miller, Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History |
Most Recent Winner During his 34 years as U.S. Senate Historian, Dick Baker contributed significantly to the field of public history. When appointed as the Senate’s first historian in 1975, Senate leaders described his mission as simply “to promote the history of the Senate.” Baker spent more than three decades defining that goal and establishing extensive archival, historical, and public outreach programs. These programs have included preserving and providing access to Senate records, conducting oral histories, responding to research requests, and developing historical publications, commemorations, conferences, and museum exhibits. He turned the office into the institutional memory of the Senate, safeguarding and interpreting records that offer insights into the Senate and its role in making public policy. Until Baker became historian, the Senate had never instituted an access rule for its public records at the National Archives, nor had it done anything to encourage individual senators to save their papers. In 1980, Baker drafted a resolution, which the Senate adopted, requiring that all Senate records be opened automatically after 20 years, with exceptions for privacy and national security. Baker also persuaded Senate committees to transfer their historical records to the archives. He promoted the creation of the Center for Legislative Archives, and served on the Advisory Committee for the Records of Congress. Similarly, under his leadership, the Historical Office advised individual senators about depositing their papers in libraries and archives in their home states. Under Baker’s direction, the Senate Historical Office produced numerous books, articles, brochures, and pamphlets about Senate and Capitol history. Defining his mission as a public historian to reach public audiences as widely as possible, Baker edited special issues of Cobblestone and the OAH Magazine of American History to help teachers incorporate congressional history into the curricula. He appeared frequently on radio and television, most extensively on C-SPAN, to explain the Senate’s history and practices, and regularly spoke to audiences of senators, staff, interns, scholars, and visitors from other governments. In recent years, Dick Baker became a steadfast advocate for a Capitol Visitors Center and devoted much attention to the center’s exhibit hall, the first museum dedicated to the history of the U.S. Congress and Capitol. Upon his retirement on August 31, 2009, the Senate recognized his efforts to maintain a model public history program by adopting a resolution naming him the Senate’s first Historian Emeritus. |