Quantrell Awards
In 1938, an anonymous gift to the University created an endowment, the purpose of which was unique in American higher education: a monetary award to be presented annually to faculty members in recognition of their excellence in teaching undergraduate students. The donor’s anonymity technically prevailed for more than a decade, but in 1952, University Trustee Ernest Quantrell added to his gift, consented to be acknowledged as the donor and named the award for his parents, Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell.
The Quantrell Award is believed to be the nation’s oldest prize for undergraduate teaching. Based on letters of nomination from students, the award is among the most treasured by faculty. Nobel Laureate James Cronin, University Professor in Physics, said he was “bowled over to be receiving this Quantrell prize.”
“I really care about teaching undergraduates—it’s both a great responsibility and a great pleasure—and to have this recognition is just incredible. It’s better than some of the more public awards I’ve gotten,” he said.
In a 1952 issue of the University of Chicago Magazine, Quantrell described the motivation behind his gift. “The success of a university depends on its product, and its product consists of students trained to lead happy, proficient, useful and unselfish lives. To obtain this product, a good faculty is essential and constitutes the most important part of a university. We have had, and still have, great teachers, but we will have still greater ones.”
- Helma Dik, 2006
- Heinrich Jaeger, 2006
- Jocelyn Malamy, 2006
- Russell Tuttle, 2006
- László Babai, 2005
- Dorothy Hanck, 2005
- Stephen Meredith, 2005
- Holly Swyers, 2005
- Kenneth Warren, 2005
- Nadine Di Vito, 2004
- Martin Feder, 2004
- Michael Green, 2004
- David Jablonski, 2004
- Jim Leitzel, 2004
- Edward Cook, 2003
- Susan Goldin-Meadow, 2003
- Munir Humayan, 2003
- Bernard Roizman, 2003
- Christina von Nolcken, 2003
- Jean Comaroff, 2002
- John Comaroff, 2002
- Benjamin Glick, 2002
- Gary Herrigel, 2002
- Douglas MacAyeal, 2002
- Mario Santana , 2002
- Danielle Allen, 2001
- Mark Oreglia, 2001
- Marsha Rosner, 2001
- Bernard Silberman, 2001
- Shadi Bartsch, 2000
- David Grier, 2000
- D. Gale Johnson, 2000
- Laurens Mets, 2000
- Bertram Cohler, 1999
- Milton Ehre, 1999
- Susan Kidwell, 1999
- Michael LaBarbera, 1999
- Moishe Postone, 1999
- Steven Levitt, 1998
- Joseph Piccirilli, 1998
- Allen Sanderson, 1998
- Laura Slatkin, 1998
- Stephen Stigler, 1998
- Elizabeth Alexander, 1997
- Gregory Hillhouse, 1997
- Lawrence McEnerney, 1997
- Nathan Tarcov, 1997
- Philip Ulinski, 1997
- Eric Caplan, 1996
- Hanna Gray, 1996
- James Hopson, 1996
- Sidney Nagel, 1996
- Kathleen Conzen, 1995
- Herbert George, 1995
- Richard Kron, 1995
- Stephen Pruett-Jones, 1995
- James Cronin, 1994
- Ingrid Rowland, 1994
- George Stocking Jr., 1994
- Michael Wade, 1994
- Laurie Butler, 1993
- Michael Dickinson, 1993
- Edward Kolb, 1993
- Gerald Rosenberg, 1993
- Stuart Sherman, 1993
- Fred Donner, 1992
- Henry Frisch, 1992
- Charles Gray, 1992
- Joseph Jaraback & Thomas Jones (joint award), 1992
- Richard Saller, 1992
- Martin Burke, 1991
- Diane Herrmann, 1991
- David Malament, 1991
- Ursula Storb, 1991
- Leo Kadanoff, 1990
- Philip Kurland, 1990
- Harold Richman, 1990
- Bernard Strauss, 1990
- Peter White, 1990
- Lauren Berlant, 1989
- Constantin Fasolt, 1989
- John Frederick, 1989
- Radovan Zak, 1989
- Jan Goldstein, 1988
- J. David Greenstone, 1988
- Arunas Liulevicius, 1988
- Monte Lloyd, 1988
- Robert Peters, 1988
- Frank Merritt, 1987
- James Redfield, 1987
- Lorna Straus, 1987
- Karl Weintraub, 1987
- Joseph Williams, 1987
- Gerald Honigsblum, 1986
- David Oxtoby, 1986
- Jose Quintans, 1986
- Jonathan Z. Smith, 1986
- Anna Crone, 1985
- John Mearsheimer, 1985
- Alfred Putnam, 1985
- Hugh Wilson, 1985
- Jean Comaroff, 1984
- David Draper, 1984
- Robert Ferguson, 1984
- Dennis Hutchinson, 1984
- Ted Cohen, 1983
- Leon Kass, 1983
- William McNeill, 1983
- Malka Moscona, 1983
- Michael Turner, 1983
- Robert Fefferman, 1982
- Edward Garber, 1982
- Janel Mueller, 1982
- Robert Richards, 1982
- Chi-Ch’ao Chao, 1981
- Mark Inghram, 1981
- Sam Peltzman, 1981
- Ronald Thisted, 1981
- Robert Geroch, 1980
- Edward Haydon, 1980
- Amy Kass, 1980
- John Macaloon, 1980
- John Simpson, 1980
- David Bevington, 1979
- Clifford Gurney, 1979
- Peter Wyllie, 1979
- Marvin Zonis, 1979
- Herbert Friedmann, 1978
- Melvin Shochet, 1978
- Norman Nachtrieb, 1977
- Ralph Nicholas, 1977
- Hewson Swift, 1977
- Francis Kinahan, 1976
- Leonard Olsen, 1976
- Richard Taub, 1976
- Bertram Cohler, 1975
- Beatrice Garber, 1975
- Paul Moore, 1975
- William Veeder, 1975
- Philip Gossett, 1974
- Robert Haselkorn, 1974
- Ira Kipnis, 1974
- Leon Stock, 1974
- Edward Anders, 1973
- John Hubby, 1973
- Norman Maclean, 1973
- Suzanne Rudolph, 1973
- Richard Beals, 1972
- Wayne Booth, 1972
- Robert Hummel, 1972
- H. Gregg Lewis, 1972
- Richard Mintel, 1972
- Philip Hoffmann, 1971
- Donald Levine, 1971
- Richard Mckeon, 1971
- Peter Meyer, 1971
- Easley Blackwood, 1970
- Joseph Cropsey, 1970
- Stuart Rice, 1970
- Lorna Straus, 1970
- Isaac Abella, 1969
- Virgil Burnett, 1969
- Emile Karafiol, 1969
- Henry Rago, 1969
- Manfred Ruddat, 1969
- John Jamieson, 1968
- Edward Kollar, 1968
- Lester Little, 1968
- Dudley Shapere, 1968
- Michael Murrin, 1967
- Paul Sally Jr., 1967
- David Wake, 1967
- Gilbert White, 1967
- Arunas Liulevicius, 1966
- Elder Olson, 1966
- David Orlinsky, 1966
- Nathan Sugarman, 1966
- Eric Cochrane Jr., 1965
- James Redfield, 1965
- Joseph Schwab, 1965
- Nien-Chu Yang, 1965
- Sylvain Bromberger, 1964
- John Cawelti, 1964
- Frank Child, 1964
- Ralph Lerner, 1964
- Richard Lashof, 1963
- Mckim Mariott, 1963
- Gerson Rosenthal, 1963
- Herman Sinaiko, 1963
- Norman Nachtrieb, 1962
- Leo Nedelsky, 1962
- Fred Siegler, 1962
- Edward Wasiolek, 1962
- Abram Harris, 1961
- Meyer Isenberg, 1961
- Irving Kaplansky, 1961
- Ray Koppelman, 1961
- Roger Hildebrand, 1960
- Janice Spofford, 1960
- Karl Weintraub, 1960
- David Williams, 1960
- Lawrence Bogorad, 1959
- Merlin Bowen, 1959
- Marvin Meyers, 1959
- Kenneth Rehage, 1959
- Maynard Krueger, 1958
- Viola Manderfeld, 1958
- Stuart Tave, 1958
- Izaak Wirszup, 1958
- Maurice Cramer, 1957
- Reuel Denney, 1957
- Thomas Lee, 1957
- George Playe, 1957
- Harold Gall, 1956
- Christian Mackauer, 1956
- Joshua Taylor, 1956
- Rosalie Wax, 1956
- Daniel Harris, 1955
- Gwin Kolb, 1955
- John Netherton, 1955
- Charles Wegener, 1955
- Mark Ashin, 1954
- Wells Chamberlin, 1954
- Donald Meikeljohn, 1954
- Beatrice Mintz, 1954
- Grosvenor William Cooper, 1953
- John Oliver Hutchens, 1953
- Robert Monroe Palter, 1953
- Edward Rosenheim Jr., 1953
- Wilma Ebbitt, 1952
- Alfred Putnam, 1952
- Alan Simpson, 1952
- Jay Williams, 1952
- Knox Hill, 1951
- James Parsons, 1951
- H. Stefan Schultz, 1951
- William Bradbury, 1950
- Joseph Ceithaml, 1950
- William Meyer Jr., 1950
- John Mayfield, 1949
- Richard Weaver, 1949
- Warner Wick, 1949
- Albert Hayes, 1948
- Aaron Sayvetz, 1948
- Milton Singer, 1948
- Benson Ginsburg, 1947
- Louise Roberts, 1947
- Elseo Vivas, 1947
- Robert Keohane, 1946
- F. Joseph Mullin, 1946
- Eugene Northrop, 1946
- Graham Dushane, 1945
- Harold Haydon, 1945
- Durbin Rowland, 1945
- John Davey, 1944
- Gerhard Meyer, 1944
- Everett Olson, 1944
- Michael Ference, 1943
- Arthur Friedman, 1943
- T. Walter Johnson, 1943
- David Daiches, 1942
- Edward Espenshade, 1942
- Russell Thomas, 1942
- James Babcock, 1941
- Victor Johnson, 1941
- Norman Maclean, 1941
- James Cate, 1940
- Ralph Sanger, 1940
- Paul Voth, 1940
- Ralph Buchsbaum, 1939
- Clarence Faust, 1939
- William Krumbein, 1939
- William Hutchinson, 1938
- Joseph Schwab, 1938
- Reginald Stephenson, 1938