Accolades

Amid these challenging times, it still feels a bit odd to celebrate good news. Yet that's precisely what I hold onto -- good news and success, which feed my optimism. Because, at the end of the day, I'm a glass half-full person. I'm always excited to hear other people's good news; here's mine.

2020 Outstanding Assistant Professor. My university awarded me this honor. I was floored; what a total surprise! I’m humbled. Many of my colleagues are deserving of such recognition too, and I’m just thankful for their support and encouragement. I'm lucky to have the opportunity to do this work.

Here's a note about the award:

The ideal university faculty member is someone whose accomplishments in the areas of teaching, research, and service are prodigious and of the highest quality. He or she is an inspiring, challenging, and effective teacher, whose concern and respect for students is evident both in and out of the classroom. Such a faculty member makes important and extensive contributions to his or her chosen field, and shares those contributions with peers through publication or other appropriate means. Finally, the ideal faculty member willingly and effectively devotes time and energy in useful service to the university, the profession, and the state. The recipients of these awards are those members of the university faculty who, in recent years, have demonstrated these qualities. Each year, two Outstanding Faculty Awards will be given, one each for an assistant and an associate professor. All UNH tenure track faculty members at those ranks are eligible.

In late June 2020, I officially earned tenure! That was a huge milestone. It was one of my key goals, and it feels incredible to have achieved it after some years on the tenure track. Now, I'm reminded of Professor P. Gabrielle Foreman's advice:

I'm going to carve out a deliberate plan. I'm setting new goals and identifying some worthy things, at this point in my career. And it feels glorious to shape my own destiny.

In other news, my article, “Love and Justice: African American Women, Education, and Protest in Antebellum New England,” published in the Journal of Social History, received honorable mention for the 2019 Distinguished Essay Prize from the History of Education Society.

Last but not least, I did an interview on July 28, 2020 on New Hampshire Public Radio’s “The Exchange" with host Laura Knoy about my book, In Pursuit of Knowledge, which is available for purchase directly from the NYU Press website. You can listen to the interview here. Julian Maduro, a rising senior at UNH, is interviewed as well.

Based on my book, I’ve designed an equity, inclusion, and justice workshop entitled, “A Lesson on Equity & Justice from a Nineteenth Century Female Seminary.” Ask me about it!