Scholarships and Awards
The History Department annually awards several scholarships and awards to its top-ranking students, both undergraduate and graduate. The scholarships and awards listed below are decided by the History Department based on merit, need, and the specific criteria of each fund.
The Ronald F. Banks Scholarship
The Caroline Colvin Scholarship
The Comstock-Weston Scholarship
The Darrel B. Currie Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Roger B. Hill Scholarship
The Nancy R. Johnson Memorial Prize in Ancient History
The John J. Nolde Prize in Asian History
The Laurence Evans and Elizabeth Taylor Evans Award
The Charles J. Dunn Award
The Hildegarde B. Perkins Fund
The Bowen Scholarship in Canadian History
The Wiebke Ipsen-Marli Weiner Memorial Scholarship
The Frances Robinson Mitchell Scholarship
The Ronald F. Banks Scholarship Fund
The Ronald F. Banks Scholarship Fund was established in 1979 by family, friends, colleagues, and students in memory of Professor Ron Banks, a member of our department and distinguished historian of Maine. His career was tragically cut short when he was killed while attending a meeting of the Organization of American Historians in New Orleans. The income from this fund is awarded annually to a student in the field of history who has demonstrated academic achievement.
The Caroline Colvin Scholarship Fund
Established in 1976, this scholarship honors the memory of Caroline Colvin, a distinguished historian who taught here for much of the first half of the 20th century. Among her other distinctions, she was the first woman to chair a department at the University of Maine and the first woman to serve as a history chair at a land-grant university. These scholarships are awarded annually to women history majors who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement.
The Darrel B Currie ’36 Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Darrel B. Currie ’36 Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in the University of Maine Foundation in 2000, with a gift from his wife, Charlotte Currie. The principal shall be used to provide scholarship assistance for undergraduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who have an interest in history and/or political science. The recipients of this scholarship need not have declared history of political science as a major. The recipients shall be graduates of a Maine high school.
The Comstock-Weston Scholarship Fund
The Comstock-Weston Scholarship was established in 1985 by Corinne Comstock Weston and Arthur Weston. The scholarship is awarded every other year to History majors who have demonstrated excellence in their academic achievements.
The John J. Nolde Memorial Prize in History
In 1989 the family of a distinguished scholar of Chinese history, the late Professor John J. Nolde, established a prize at this institution in his memory. Professor Nolde taught at the University of Maine for many years and was also Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In his last years he became a foremost authority on the connections between Ezra Pound’s poetry and Chinese history. The Nolde Prize is awarded each year to an outstanding student of history with first preference given to a student of Asian studies.
The Roger B. Hill Scholarship Fund in the Humanities
The Roger B. Hill Fund was established in 1980 by a bequest from the estate of Roger B. Hill. The income from this fund provides scholarships annually to recognize outstanding students in each of the seven departments within the humanities.
The Nancy R. Johnson Memorial Prize in Ancient History
Established in 1990 with gifts from friends of former President and Mrs. Arthur M. Johnson, this fund recognizes the Johnsons’ devoted service to the University of Maine. The income from this fund is awarded annually to a student attaining the most outstanding record in a given year in the opinion of those who teach ancient history.
The Laurence Evans and Elizabeth Taylor Evans Award
The Laurence Evans and Elizabeth Taylor Evans Fund was established in 1994 for the benefit of the University of Maine with bequests from Laurence Evans, a member of the class of 1951, and Elizabeth Taylor Evans, a member of the class of 1944. The income from this fund provides an annual award to the graduating senior History major with the highest academic record.
The Charles J. Dunn Award
The Charles J. Dunn Fund was created in 1994 through a bequest to the Department of History by Barbara Dunn Hitchner in memory of her father, a long time resident of Orono and a Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court. In 1995 the History Department committed a portion of these funds to The Charles J. Dunn Trust Award, to be presented to the graduating senior with the highest academic record who will enter a graduate program in the following semester.
The Hildegarde B. Perkins Fund
This fund was established in 2002 for the benefit of the University of Maine with a gift annuity from Hildegarde B. “Bili” Perkins, widow of Raymond F. Perkins, Class of 1936. The income from this fund is used to provide financial assistance to undergraduate students in history, with a preference given to students studying architectural or cultural history. Funds may also be used for these students to attend conferences and pay for membership in the Society of Architectural Historians and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.
The Bowen Scholarship in Canadian History
The Bowen Scholarship was created in 2005 through a contribution from Drs. Dawn S. And Marshall E. Bowen for the purpose of supporting those who are pursuing a graduate degree in History with a focus on Canada. Dr. Dawn S. Bowen earned her Master’s degree at the University of Maine in 1990. She created the scholarship with her husband because the supportive environment that existed in the History Department and the Canadian-American Center convinced her to choose a career in academics.
The Wiebke Ipsen-Marli Weiner Memorial Scholarship
This award is named in memory of Dr. Wiebke Ipsen and Dr. Marli Weiner, who died within a month of each other in 2009. Dr. Ipsen, an Assistant Professor (2006-2009), taught Latin American History and did research in gender, politics, and nation building in Brazil. She was a deeply engaged professor whose pedagogy, scholarship, and friendships grew from a gentle and spirited personality. Dr. Weiner, a distinguished member of the History Department for over 20 years (1988-2009), taught courses and published scholarship in her academic specialties of nineteenth-century U.S. history, women’s history, the South, and African-American history. We remember her for her brilliant intellect, kind heart, and commitment to doctoral students. The fund provides scholarship assistance for History students at the University of Maine with preference given to graduate students conducting research in gender or social history, areas that Professors Ipsen and Weiner both dedicated their professional lives to studying.
The Frances Robinson Mitchell Scholarship Fund
The Frances Robinson Mitchell Scholarship Fund was established in 2006 through a gift from Frances Robinson Mitchell. Mrs. Mitchell attended the University of Maine from 1942 through 1944. Due to World War II she enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1944. The income from this fund provides a scholarship annually to a graduate student or graduate students who are making a thorough study of the history of the United States, with particular emphasis on the Great Depression and World War II period, with special attention to the Pacific Theater and/or on the Revolutionary War and the launching of a new democratic form of government, with particular emphasis on the role played by George Washington.