An awards ceremony Thursday celebrated the achievements of students and faculty in the Department of History. The event was held in a first-year class taught by professor Rob Nelson, said department head Miriam Wright.

“It was an occasion for us to let our new students know about the quality of a degree in history from the University of Windsor,” she said. “Our faculty are talented, highly-respected scholars who have works published by the world’s top academic presses and journals.”

Dr. Wright pointed to several recent faculty achievements, including the 2011 publication of Dr. Nelson’s book, German Soldier Newspapers of the First World War, and Shauna Huffaker’s award from the National Endowment for the Humanities for her project “Implementing Imperial Justice: The Court of Ibn Tulun and the Development of the Ottoman Courts of Egypt, 1530-1580.”

Among the students recognized were:

• Sydney Murray and Leah Nicolette, recipients of the Ian Pemberton Award in History for top students in the courses 123 and 124;
• Sharon Hanna, recipient of the John Yanchula Memorial Scholarship, a prize given to an outstanding student in the third year of an honours history degree;
• History majors on the 2011 Dean’s Honour Roll, Zainab Abdulle, Amanda Alchin, Brittany Bellefleur, Lawrence J. Beneteau, Dennis Bernard, Jessica Brunet, Nicole Culumovic, Dillon Fowler, Felicia Gabriele, Jonathan Geelen, Zachary Gerard, Kathleen Jessup, Michael Koufis, Celena Meloche, Sydney Murray, Stephan Pigeon, Carol Reader, Janice Sellen, Mark Sewell, Sara Shahbazi and Eric Smith; and
• Master’s student Allison Burnette, who received a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Professor Steven Palmer, acting as the event host, told the students about the awards available to history majors, including the David P. Botsford Memorial Scholarship in local history and the fourth-year history essay contest.

He urged them to make the most of the time in University and to stay engaged with campus life.

“You’re a great and original crowd from interesting backgrounds with unique perspectives on the world,” Dr. Palmer said. “Learn that, and enjoy it.”