July 3, 2017
The Society of American Historians has honored William Cronon, the Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies at UW-Madison, with the 10th annual Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Award. The prize, given jointly with the Roosevelt Institute, honors distinguished writing in American history of enduring public significance.
The award was presented in May at Columbia University in New York City.
Cronon is a pioneer in the field of environmental history with an unparalleled commitment to public discourse and academic freedom. A Rhodes scholar, he began his career at Yale, where he completed his Ph.D. and taught in the History Department. Awarded a MacArthur Prize in 1985 for his pathbreaking work in his first book, Changes in the Land, Cronon quickly earned a reputation for his dedication to teaching and to bringing historical scholarship both to the general public and to policy makers.
Leaving Yale for his home state of Wisconsin in 1992, Cronon brought his talents to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has won teaching prizes while publishing more field-defining books, including Nature’s Metropolis.
The Society of American Historians, founded in 1939, encourages and promotes literary distinction in the writing and presentation of American history. The Society’s members – by invitation only – consist of scholars, journalists, documentarians, filmmakers, essayists, novelists, biographers and poets.
Adapted from a news article originally published by the Society of American Historians.
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