Award and Prize Committees
Willi Paul Adams Award Committee
The prize is given biennially in odd-numbered years for the best book on American history published in a language other than English.
- Hidetaka Hirota, Chair
- Eladio Bobadilla
- Melissa Daggett
- Daniel R. Ernst
- Hongyan Lyu
- João José Reis
Erik Barnouw Award Committee
One or two awards are given annually in recognition of outstanding programming on network or cable television, or in documentary film, concerned with American history, the study of American history, and/or the promotion of American history.
- Anne Lewis, Chair
- Eduardo Pagán
- Daniel Blake Smith
Ray Allen Billington Prize Committee
The committee is composed of three members, each appointed for a two-year term. The prize is given biennially in odd-numbered years for the best book on the history of native and/or settler peoples in frontier, border, and borderland zones of intercultural contact in any century to the present and to include works that address the legacies of those zones.
- Andrés Reséndez, Chair
- Maurice S. Crandall
- Julian Lim
Binkley-Stephenson Award Committee
The committee selects the best article that appeared in the Journal of American History during the preceding calendar year.
- Ji-Yeon Yuh, Chair
- Peter Martínez
- Traci Parker
Civil War and Reconstruction Book Award Committee
The award is given annually for the most original book on the coming of the Civil War, the Civil War years, or the Era of Reconstruction.
- Amy Murrell Taylor, Chair
- Jim Downs
- Gretchen Long
Merle Curti Award Committees
Two awards are given annually: one for the best book in American social history and one for the best book in American intellectual history.
Social History Committee:
- Beth Bailey, Chair
- Samuel Davis
- Jacob Lee
- Alaina Roberts
Intellectual History Committee:
- Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, Chair
- Brandon Byrd
- Leilah Danielson
John D'Emilio LGBTQ History Dissertation Award Committee
The award is given annually for the best PhD dissertation in U.S. LGBTQ history.
- Julio Capó, Jr., Chair
- Derrais Carter
- Chelsea Del Rio
Friend of History Award Committee
The award is given annually to recognize an institution or organization, or an individual working primarily outside college or university settings, for outstanding support of historical research, the public presentation of American history, or the work of the OAH. Recipients will be selected by the OAH Executive Committee.
- Erika Lee, President, Chair
- Anthea M. Hartig, President-Elect
- David W. Blight, Vice President
- Jay S. Goodgold, Treasurer
- Philip J. Deloria, Immediate Past President
- Beth English, Executive Director, ex officio
- Benjamin H. Irvin, Executive Editor, OAH; Editor, Journal of American History, ex officio
Ellis W. Hawley Prize Committee
The prize is given annually for the best book-length historical study of the political economy, politics, or institutions of the United States, in its domestic or international affairs, from the Civil War to the present.
- Lila Corwin Berman, Chair
- Destin Jenkins
- Neil M. Maher
- Julie L. Reed
- Tamara Venit-Shelton
John Higham Research Fellowship Fund
The grants are given annually to graduate students pursuing research for the PhD in American history. Thanks to the generosity of William L. and Carol B. Joyce, OAH is pleased to offer this program.
- Andrew Jewett, Chair
- Maria Raquel Casas
- Joel Zapata
Darlene Clark Hine Award Committee
The award is given annually for the best book in African American women’s and gender history.
- Michelle R. Scott, Chair
- Deidre Hill Butler
- Natanya Duncan
- Duchess Harris
- LaShawn D. Harris
Huggins-Quarles Award Committee
One or two awards are given annually to graduate students of color to assist them with expenses related to travel to research collections for the completion of the PhD dissertation. This award was established to promote greater diversity in the historical profession. The Committee on the Status of African American, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American (ALANA) Historians and ALANA Histories serves as the Huggins-Quarles Award Committee
- Françoise Hamlin, Chair
- Kami Fletcher
- Irvin Ibargüen
- Erika Pérez
- Abigail Rosas
- Derek Taira
Richard W. Leopold Prize Committee
The prize is given biennially in even-numbered years for the best book on foreign policy, military affairs, the historical activities of the federal government, or biography by a government historian.
- John Worsencroft, Chair
- Chad H. Parker
- Nicole Sackley
Lerner-Scott Prize Committee
The prize is given annually for the best doctoral dissertation in U.S. women’s history.
- Celeste Menchaca, Chair
- Sasha Maria Suarez
Lawrence W. Levine Award Committee
The award is given annually for the best book in American cultural history.
- Flannery Burke, Chair
- Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert
- Catherine Gudis
- Martha J. McNamara
- Mark Padoongpatt
Liberty Legacy Foundation Award Committee
The award is given annually for the best book by a historian on the civil rights struggle from the beginnings of the nation to the present.
- Simon Balto, Chair
- Lauren Araiza
- Emilye Crosby
Samuel and Marion Merrill Graduate Student Travel Grants Committee
The grants are supported by a bequest from the Merrill Trust and are given annually to help sponsor the travel-related costs of graduate students who are confirmed as participants on the OAH conference program and who incur expenses traveling to the annual meeting.
- Anthea M. Hartig, Chair
- David W. Blight
- Annette Gordon-Reed
David Montgomery Award Committee
The award is given annually by the OAH with cosponsorship by the Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA) for the best book on a topic in American labor and working-class history.
- Eduardo Contreras, Chair
- Stacey Smith
- Ken Fones-Wolf
Mary Nickliss Prize in U.S. Women's and/or Gender History Committee
The prize is given annually for the most original book in U.S. women's and/or gender history.
- Patricia Loughlin, Chair
- Darnella Davis
- Tai S. Edwards
- Karen J. Leong
Louis Pelzer Memorial Award Committee
The committee selects the best essay in American history written by a graduate student.
- Stephen D. Andrews, Interim Executive Editor, OAH/Interim Editor, Journal of American History, Chair, ex officio
- Catherine J. Denial
- Quincy Mills
- Terry Anne Scott
Presidents' Travel Fund for Emerging Historians
The grants provide travel stipends of up to $750 for up to five graduate students and recent PhDs in history whose papers or panels/sessions have been accepted by the OAH program Committee for inclusion on the annual meeting program.
- Anthea M. Hartig, Chair
- David W. Blight
- Annette Gordon-Reed
James A. Rawley Prize Committee
The prize is given annually for a book dealing with race relations in the United States.
- Yuichiro Onishi, Chair
- Dan Berger
- Margaret Ellen Newell
Roy Rosenzweig Distinguished Service Award
The award is given annually to an individual or individuals whose contributions have significantly enriched our understanding and appreciation of American history.
- George J. Sánchez, Chair
- Susan Sleeper-Smith
- Brenda E. Stevenson
- Mike Williams
Stanton-Horton Award for Excellence in National Park Service History
The award recognizes excellence in historical projects for, by, and with the National Park Service and is intended to honor projects that make the NPS exemplary in promoting civic dialogue about and appreciation of American history.
- April Antonellis, Chair
- Edward J. Hagerty
- Lori Shea Kuechler
Tachau Teacher of the Year Award Committee
The award is given annually to recognize the contributions made by precollegiate teachers to improve history education within the field of American history.
- Amy Trenkle, Chair
- James Seymour
- Charles Yarborough
David Thelen Award Committee
The prize is given biennially in even-numbered years for the best article on American history published in a language other than English.
- Stephen D. Andrews, Interim Executive Editor, OAH/Interim Editor, Journal of American History, Chair, ex officio
- Max Paul Friedman
- Appointments Pending
Frederick Jackson Turner Award Committee
The award is given annually to the author of a first scholarly book dealing with some aspect of American history.
- Philip J. Deloria, Chair
- Anne Kornhauser
- Bryant Simon
