Whiting Award

In 2001, the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation awarded Kenyon College a grant to support outstanding teaching in the humanities.

The foundation's definition of "humanities" includes but goes beyond Kenyon's Humanities Division (Classics, English, Modern Languages & Literatures, Philosophy, Religious Studies) to include, for example, Art History, Music History, IPHS, Women's and Gender Studies, some kinds of History, Political Science, Anthropology, and Sociology. While the foundation explicitly excludes fine artists, natural scientists, and social scientists, there is some flexibility in how "humanities" is defined. Still, to be eligible, one's primary career path must be in the humanities — as opposed to, say, being a fine artist, a natural scientist, or a social scientist who may teach one course in the humanities.

The purpose of these grants is to support research and scholarly writing of junior, tenure-track faculty. Whiting wants these awards to go to "the very best teachers among your humanities faculty," and to that end the only criterion in the selection process is teaching excellence. The awards themselves, however, are designed to support scholarship: "To offset the time and reward the energies these young professors have expended on teaching, the College would offer assistance that would help ensure their scholarly success."

To be eligible for either of these grants, you must be tenure-track, untenured, with at least three years of full-time teaching experience, at least one of which must already have been completed as a tenure-track professor at Kenyon.

Whiting Award funding from the foundation was scheduled to expire as of the 2012-13 academic year. However, changes in the structure of the program have allowed Kenyon to extend this resource to one additional round of winners. Whiting Awards now include a $5,000 salary stipend, and a $10,000 research fund to be awarded each year, for two years, to each selected winner. The final recipients of the award will be chosen in 2013-14 for funding during the '14-15 and '15-16 school years.

If you are a tenure-track, untenured professor in the humanities (broadly defined), with at least three years of full-time teaching experience, at least one of which must already have been completed as a tenure-track professor at Kenyon, you will be sent an email by Jalene Fox in October, asking you to indicate the following:

  • that you would like to be considered for this award; and
  • if you have completed your pre-tenure review:
    that you grant permission to the selection committee — which includes the Provost and three senior faculty members in the humanities who are NOT from departments in which there are applicants — to use as the main basis for selection your past College Form course evaluations and the section on teaching from your most recent official review letter at Kenyon
  • if you are in the process of completing your pre-tenure review:
    that you grant permission to the selection committee — which includes the Provost and three senior faculty members in the humanities who are NOT from departments in which there are applicants — to use as the main basis for selection your past College Form course evaluations, the section on teaching from your most recent official review letter, and student letters being submitted for your pre-tenure review.
  • if you have not yet begun your pre-tenure review:
    that you grant permission to the selection committee — which includes the Provost and three senior faculty members in the humanities who are NOT from departments in which there are applicants -- to use as the main basis for selection your past College Form course evaluations, the section on teaching from your most recent official review letter, and student letters of support solicited by Jalene Fox (you will be asked to provide the names of ten past students, just as you would for your pre-tenure review)

Some of these procedures and criteria may seem unusual, but the foundation requires that decisions about who gets these awards be based ENTIRELY on teaching excellence rather than on scholarship, citizenship, or grant proposals.

If you have questions about the Whiting awards, please contact Jalene Fox at pbx. 5115 or foxj@kenyon.edu.

2014-15 Whiting Award Winner (final award)

  • Daniel Hartnett, Assistant Professor of Spanish

2013-14 Whiting Award Winners 

  • Travis Landry, Assistant Professor of Spanish
  • Hans Lottenbach, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
  • Simone Dubrovic, Assistant Professor of Italian
  • H. Abbie Erler, Assistant Professor of Political Science
  • Chengjuan Sun, Assistant Professor of Chinese
  • Ivonne M. García- Whiting Teaching Fellowship
  • Simone Dubrovic- Whiting Research Grant
  • Leo W. Riegert - Whiting Teaching Fellowship
  • H. Abbie Erler - Whiting Research Grant
  • Teaching Fellowship - Zoë Kontes (Classics)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - David Leibowitz (Political Science)
  • Teaching Fellowship - Victoria Malawey (Music)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Paul Gebhardt (MLL)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - David Leibowitz (Political Science)
  • Teaching Fellowship - Sarah Heidt (English)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Paul Gebhardt (MLL)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Matt Maguire (IPHS)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Adam Serfass (Classics)
  • Teaching Fellowship - Katherine M. Hedeen (MLL)
  • Summer Stipend - Katherine L. Elkins (IPHS)
  • Summer Stipend - Adam C. Serfass (Classics)
  • Summer Stipend - Reginald L. Sanders (Music)
  • Summer Stipend - Matthew Maguire (History and IPHS)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Kate Hedeen (MLL)
  • Research Grant - Matthew Maguire (History)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Victor Rodriguez-Nunez (MLL)
  • Teaching Fellowship - Adam Serfass (Classics)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Henry Spiller (Music)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Kristen VanAusdall (Art History)
  • Teaching Fellowship - Kate Elkins (IPHS)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Ted Buehrer (Music)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Matthew Maguire (History and IPHS)
  • Research Grant - Sarah Blick (Art History)
  • Research Grant - Henry Spiller (Music and Anthropology)
  • Teaching Fellowship - Pamela Camerra-Rowe (Political Science)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Jesse Matz (English)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Natalia Olshanskaya (MLL)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Devin Stauffer (Political Science)
  • Summer Scholarship Stipend - Kristen VanAusdall (Art History)
  • Teaching Fellowship - Ted Buehrer (Music)
  • Research Grant - Devin Stauffer (Political Science)

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