BHC Prizes and Fellowships

The Grants and Prizes Committee oversees the awards, grants, and prizes of the BHC. This committee is directly responsible for selection of recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Harold F. Williamson Prize. It appoints standing subcommittees that award the Krooss and Newcomen Article prizes, and it monitors the Hagley Prize and graduate student travel grants.

The Business History Conference Lifetime Achievement Award. The BHC's Grants and Prizes Committee shall solicit nominations from the membership for this award every two to three years as appropriate. It shall review these nominations and select the nominee who has, in the judgment of the committee, contributed the most to the work of the Business History Conference and to scholarship in business history. The committee will recommend this member to the Board of Trustees, which shall either ratify or reject the committee's recommendation. The award shall consist of a suitably designed or commissioned token (e.g., plaque, medal, etc.) worthy of honoring the selected member's lifetime achievements. The committee is not obliged to make a recommendation if, in its members' judgment, there is no nominee worthy of the award.

Harold F. Williamson Prize. Awarded every two to three years to a mid-career scholar who has made significant contributions to the field of business history, this prize memorializes the contributions to business history of the late Harold F. Williamson. The Grants and Prizes Committee shall serve as the core members of the Williamson Prize Committee, which shall also consist of two ex officio members, the BHC President and the BHC Secretary-Treasurer. The membership shall be solicited for nominations for the Williamson Prize six months before the prize winner is to be selected. The committee's selection shall require ratification by the full Board of Trustees.

Herman E. Krooss Prize for Best Dissertation in Business History. This prize consists of a $500 award (endowed) and a plaque. Only dissertations written in English will be considered. The Secretary-Treasurer will post notices about the prize in suitable newsletters, journals, guides, electronic media, and in the BHC's call for conference papers. Any dissertation in business history completed in the three calendar years immediately prior to the annual meeting can be nominated or considered, but may be submitted only once for the committee’s consideration. Nominations (or self-nominations) are to consist of a cover letter, the dissertation abstract, and the author's c.v. and are to be sent to each member of the prize committee. The prize committee is to consist of three members, one of whom will be the chair. Each member serves a three-year term, rotating onto the committee as junior member, then becoming chair, and then exiting after serving a final year as senior member. The Chair of the Krooss Prize Committee shall preside over the entire process and chair the plenary dissertation session at the BHC annual meeting. The committee will screen the materials from the nomination process and from these nominations draw up a short list of dissertations (roughly, 8 to 10) that the committee will consider as semifinalists. Authors will be notified and asked to send each committee member a copy of his or her dissertation. From these the committee will narrow the candidates down to no more than five finalists, who are to present their dissertations at the annual meeting. Selection of the winner is to be determined by the committee either prior to or following the presentations by finalists selected by the committee, depending on the committee's preference.

Newcomen Article Prize. This prize recognizes the author of an article published in Enterprise & Society (or any Business History Conference publication) judged to be the best of those that have appeared in volume previous to the year of the BHC annual meeting. It consists of a check for $1,000 and a plaque awarded at the annual meeting by the committee chair. The Newcomen Article Prize Committee shall consist of three members, one of whom will be the chair. Each member serves a three-year term, rotating onto the committee as junior member, then becoming chair, and then exiting after serving a final year as senior member. The Chair of the Newcomen Article Committee shall preside over the entire process.

K. Austin Kerr Prize. The K. Austin Kerr Prize is awarded for the best first paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Business History Conference by a new scholar (doctoral student or those within three years of receiving their Ph.D.). It honors K. Austin Kerr, professor of history at the Ohio State University since 1965 and president of the Business History Conference during 1992-1993. Author of many books and articles in business history, and a founder of H-Business, Professor Kerr has always encouraged excellence in scholarship and in professional and classroom presentations. Criteria for awarding the prize include scholarly excellence; innovation in subject, method, or findings; and effectiveness of presentation (to be judged by members of the committee or their representatives, on the basis of pre-defined standards). The Kerr Prize Committee is to consist of three members,, one of whom will serve as chair. Each member serves a three-year term, rotating onto the committee as junior member, then becoming chair, and then exiting after serving a final year as senior member. Potential awardees will be asked to designate themselves as such and to submit their paper in advance of the meeting, by a specified date. The committee or its delegates will evaluate the papers in advance and the presentations during the annual meeting, with the committee meeting prior to the awards banquet to make a decision that will be announced by the committee chair at the banquet.

The Hagley Prize in Business History. This prize is for the best book in business history (broadly defined) and consists of a medallion and $2,500, which are presented at the annual meeting of the BHC. Given the nature of the award's funding and establishment (through the generosity of the Hagley Museum and Library of Wilmington, Delaware, one of the nation's most significant research libraries dedicated to the history of business), the Grants and Prizes Committee will advise the Hagley representative and the BHC President about who would be a suitable person to serve as the third member of the three-person selection committee. The award committee encourages the submission of books from all methodological perspectives. It is particularly interested in innovative studies that have the potential to expand the boundaries of the discipline. Scholars, publishers, and other interested parties may submit nominations. Eligible books can have either an American or international focus. They must be written in English and published during the two years prior to the award. Four copies of a book must accompany a nomination and must be submitted to the Prize Coordinator, Carol Ressler Lockman, Hagley Museum and Library, PO Box 3630, 298 Buck Road, Wilmington DE 19807-0630 USA. Email: clockman@hagley.org. The submission deadline is December 31, 2007.

Newcomen Society Travel Grant. The Newcomen Society contributes $1500 to defray costs to attend the BHC annual meeting by graduate students who are delivering papers. These grants are administered by the Secretary-Treasurer, in consultation with the Grants and Prizes Committee, to all graduate students who are giving papers, roughly in accordance with need and whether the student has additional funding to cover expenses. Preference should be given to first-time paper givers.

Chandler Travel Grant. The Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. Travel Grants honor the dean of American business history and are used to defray costs to attend the BHC annual meeting by graduate students who are delivering papers. These grants are administered by the Secretary-Treasurer, in consultation with the Grants and Prizes Committee, to all graduate students who are giving papers, roughly in accordance with need and whether the student has additional funding to cover expenses. Preference should be given to first-time paper givers.

Approved by the BHC Trustees April 20, 2001; amended September 2002 and June 2006.