Awards

The Center for Research on Vermont annually confers awards for student research on Vermont, as well as a lifetime achievement award for scholars and practitioners who have made meaningful contributions to Vermont research.

Student Awards

2026 Awards

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The Nuquist Award is a statewide competition to encourage excellence in undergraduate research on Vermont topics in the form of a culminating study, usually a thesis or year-long project. The award is named in memory of UVM political science Professor Andrew E. Nuquist.

The Bryan Award is a statewide competition to recognize outstanding undergraduate research on Vermont topics, as exemplified in a one-semester course project. The Center inaugurated the award in 1997 to honor George B. Bryan (1939–1996), professor of theatre and former director of the Center for Research on Vermont.

The deadline will be announced in early 2026.

Stay tuned for submissions to open in 2026

Past Bryan Award Recipients

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Bryan Award Recipients for Excellence in a Vermont Research Project
StudentYearAdvisorInstitutionTitle
Nora Sissenich2024Jennifer Lai (Sociology)University of Vermont"The Emergence of Controversy over Digital Libraries in Rural Vermont"
Samuel Blair2020 University of Vermont"Habitus in the Sugarbush: Theorizing Cultural Landscapes and the More-Than-Human"
Kailey Loughran2019Rachel Onuf (Vermont State Archives)University of Vermont"Vermont Suffragists: A Sampling of the First Female Activists from 100 Years Ago"
Lachlan Francis2018 University of Vermont"Political Polarization along the Rural-Urban Divide"
Anthony DiMario2017Dale Jaffe (Sociology)University of Vermont"Indie Capitalism and Craft Beer Drinkers in Vermont"
Newton Rose2015Rae Nishi (Neurology) and Helga Schreckenberger (German) "Remembering Elia Corti: The Durability of Granite and the Fluidity of Memory.
Emily Bensen2014Michael Sheridan (Sociology)Middlebury College"The Dynamics of Social Capital: A Study of Town Clerks as Key Participants in Exchange Relationships in Addison County Communities"
Harriet Napier2013Svea Closser (Sociology)Middlebury College"The Subculture of the Suppressed: Living in Middlebury's Motels"
No recipient2012------
No recipient2011------
Kevin Madore2010Kathryn Morse (History)Middlebury College"The Labor Fever of the Rutland Knights: How the Working Class Gained Power in the Marble Utopia of Vermont"
Gregory McDermott2009James Ralph (History)Middlebury College"'Leave It or Sink With It': The Rise and Fall of the Vermont Know-Nothing Party"
Benjamin Robins2008Amy Morsman (History)Middlebury College"Privileged Scholars or Patriotic Soldiers? Middlebury College Students and the Civil War, A Comparison of the Town and College"
Emily Wheeler2007Burke RochfordMiddlebury College"Small Town vs. Big Wind: Exploring the Complexity of the Wind Power Debate in Rural Vermont"
Cara Gooch2006Andrew Wentink (Special Collections)Middlebury College"A Holy Battle: The Antislavery Movement in Vermont, 1819–1840"
Erinn Grimes2005Travis B. Jacobs (History)Middlebury College"Academic Duality: The Middlebury Russian School from 1945 to 1955"
Lindsey Whitton2004James Ralph (History)Middlebury College"Nature Versus Nurture: The Vermont Children's Aid Society's Struggle with Eugenics Theory, 1919–1925"
Susan Reagan - co-recipient2003Amy Morsman (History)Middlebury College"From Farm to Nearby Factory: Female Millworkers in Middlebury, Vermont in the 1840s"
Alden Woodrow - co-recipient2003Jonathan Isham (Economics & Environmental Studies)Middlebury College"The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act and Vermont: Values, Applications, and Impacts"
Michael Snow2002Peter B. Nelson (Geography)Middlebury College"This Compost: A Cooperative, Whole-Systems Approach to Dairy"
Alisa Leib2001Jeanne Shea (Anthropology)University of Vermont"Domestic Violence and Cultural Sensitivity in Burlington, Vermont"
Flavio Bollag2000Kathryn Morse (History)Middlebury College"Boots, Backpacks, and the Beauty of Vermont: The Development of a Hiking Culture along the Long Trail, 1910-1930"
Anthony Carbrello, Daniel Giuliani, Beth Kruger, Jesse LeClair, Stephanie Lewis, Sherry Mahady, Kelly Martelle, Mary-Catherine Munck, and Maryann Sullivan1999Amy Werbel (Fine Arts)St. Michael's College"Historic Fort Ethan Allen, Colchester/Essex, Vermont"
 
John Thomas1998Dona Brown (History)University of Vermont"The Engine of Enlightenment: Samuel Hitchcock and the Creation of the University of Vermont Seal"
Regina-Anne Cooper1997Michael Sherman (Liberal Studies)Vermont College of Norwich University"Three Vermont Diaries"

Past Nuquist Award Recipients

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Nuquist Award Recipients for Outstanding Student Research on a Vermont Topic
StudentYearAdvisor(s)InstitutionTitle
Hanna Hartman 2024Dr. Pablo S. Bose University of Vermont“Becoming Burlington: An Analysis of Citizen Engagement in Waterfront Revitalization"
Lucia Possehl2020Cherie Morse (Geography)University of Vermont"Landscapes of Care Amid Crisis: Vermont's Repsonse to the Opioid Epidemic"
Annie McAneny2019Kelly Hamshaw (CDAE)University of Vermont"Beyond Eviction: Factors at Play in Landlord Power"
Lauren Rayson2018 University of Vermont"Understanding and Mitigating the Effects of the Childcare Cliff: A Case Study of Vermont"
Jack Braunstein2017Ingrid Nelson (Geography)University of Vermont 
Shannon K. Esrich (Anthropology)2015Teresa Mares (Anthropology)University of Vermont"Gone to Market: Perceptions, Motivations, and Values of Farmers Market Participants in Burlington, Vermont"
Neil Brandt2014Stephanie Kaza (Environmental Studies)University of Vermont"Changing Actors and Discourse: An Analysis of Ten Years of Media Coverage In Vermont's Wind Power Debate"
Victoria Kulwicki2013Dr. Thomas R. Hudspeth (Environmental Studies), Dr. Ernesto Mendez (Agroecology)University of Vermont"Reaping a Profit: An Analysis of Marketing Techniques Used by Local, Organic Farmers in Vermont"
Kristin Haas2012Peggy Nelson (Sociology)Middlebury College"Neighborly Relations: the Production of Positive and Negative Social Capital in a Low-Income Housing Community"
Rachel Zakrasek2011Michael Sheriden (Sociology and Anthropology)Middlebury College"Vulnerability and Adaptation in Vermont: Agriculture, Society, Ecology, and Climate Change"
Andrew Turgeon2010Cheryl Morse (Geography)University of Vermont"Young People’s Place in Community: Cross-Examining Teenagers’ Identities, Space and Social Differences in Southern Vermont"
Elizabeth Kelley2009Jonathan Isham, Jr. (Economics and Environmental Studies)Middlebury College"The Implications of the Greening of Social Capital: Evidence from Bristol, Vermont"
Benjamin "Jamie" Robins - Special Mention2009Amy Morsman (History)Middlebury College"Three Schools, Three Outcomes: The Students' Army Training Corps at Middlebury, Dartmouth, and the University of Vermont"
Lisa Gerstenberger2008Michael Sheridan (Sociology/Anthropology)Middlebury College"Changing Attitudes Towards Farmland Conservation Easements in Addison County, Vermont"
Kyle Brooks - Special Mention2008Gary Lord (History)Norwich University"Training Citizen-Soldiers: Norwich University's Contributions to the Vermont Militia System, 1819–1865"
Alison Brady2007Travis Jacobs (History)Middlebury College"White Gold in the Green Mountains: The Evolution of Vermont's Dairy Industry"
Asher Burns-Burg2006Jonathan Isham, Jr. (Economics and Environmental Studies)Middlebury College"Empowering Environmentalism: A Socioeconomic Analysis of Energy Consumption; Awareness, Attitudes and Actions in Vermont"
Lauren Throop2005Richard Wolfson (Physics)Middlebury College"A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Wind Energy Potential at Middlebury College's Worth Mountain"
James LaMonda2004Gary Lord (History), Jack Anderson (Adjunct Faculty)Norwich University"Closing the Backdoor to Washington: Vermont Civil War Soldiers in the Shenandoah Valley, 1864"
Robin Lane2003Michael ShermanVermont College of Union Institute & University"Understanding Act 60: An Objective Look at the Content, Context, and Implications of Vermont's Current Education Finance Legislation"
Elaine Vidal2002Elizabeth (Ibit) Getchell (Environmental Program)University of Vermont"Urban Sanctuary: The Value of Natural Areas"
Jessica Wasilewski2002Jonathan Isham (Economics), Jessica Holmes (Economics)Middlebury College"Low-Income Credit Rationing and Social Return on Investment: Welfare-to-Work Car Loans in the State of Vermont"
No recipient2001   
No recipient2000   
Irina Marinov1999Thomas Manley (Geology), Robert Prigo (Physics)Middlebury College"Wind-generated Oscillations in Lake Champlain"
Rachel Boisvert and Rachel Pierce1998Daniel Bean (Emeritus, Biology)St. Michael's College"Revisit to a Polluted Stream: LaPlatte River Water Quality, 1962 and 1996, as Determined by Benthos Communities"
James D. Brown IV1997Carl Reidel (Environmental Program), Jeffrey Hannigan (Art)University of Vermont"Ecological Site Planning and Design for a Vermont Community Growth Center: A Case Study of Taft Corners, Williston, Vermont"
Duncan Eccleston - co-recipient1996Tyler Priest (History)Middlebury College"Otter Creek: The Changing Vision of a Middlebury Resource"
Joseph Morel - co-recipient1996Jere Daniell (History)Dartmouth College"Governing a Republic: Vermont State Government, 1777–1791"
Scott Thompson1995Thomas Manley (Geology)Middlebury College"Documenting the Effects of the Internal Seiche in Lake Champlain on a Shallow Bay: Thompson's Point Bay, Lake Champlain, Vermont"
Jeffrey L. Chapman1994Theodore Sasson (Sociology-Anthropology)Middlebury College"State Lotteries: Harmless Fun or Social Plague? A Study of People's Impressions of the Vermont Lottery"
Margaret C. Kline1993James Ralph (History)Middlebury College"Modernity and Morality: Middlebury in the 1920s"
Amy Hillier1992Nancy Beadie (History)Middlebury College"Who Should Attend to Everybody's Business?: Democracy in Middlebury's Schools"
Steven Sgorbati1991Holman Jordan, Jr. (History)Castleton State College"Hyde Manor: The Early Years"
Peter R. Wilshusen1990Carl Reidel (Environmental Program)University of Vermont"A Foundation for Cooperation—The Biosphere Reserve Concept as a Model for Environmental Cooperation in the Lake Champlain/Adirondack Region"
Michael Grimm1989Jean R. Flack & Richard R. Paradis (Environmental Program)University of Vermont"The Geo-ecological Significance of Pease Mountain, Charlotte, Vermont"
George Cabot Lee II1988Susan Gray (History)Middlebury College"The Billings, Mason, and Woodward Houses of Woodstock: Rural Taste and Pattern Book Democracy in Nineteenth Century Vermont"
Karen Stites1987J. Kevin Graffagnino (Special Collections)University of Vermont"Isaac Clark of Castleton: A Controversial Figure in Early Vermont History"
Penny E. Hamlet1986Kenneth Lipartito (History)Middlebury College"`Pre-Progressivism': Farm Activism in Vermont from 1870 to 1900"
Kevin O'Connor1985Ernest Muller (History)Bates College"Bloodroots: The Impact of Transportation on the Town of Brattleboro, Vermont"
Christine M. Peleszak1984Jean Flack (Environmental Program)University of Vermont"The Abandonment of Leicester Hollow"
Becky J. Dorsey1983Rolfe Stanley (Geology)University of Vermont"Geological Synthesis of the Milton Quadrangle, North-western Vermont: A New Interpretation"
Harold Burroughs1982Blanche Linden (History)Middlebury College"Vermont and the Sectionalist Movement in New England, 1800-1815: The State's Isolation from Regional Unity"

Contact UVM Special Collections and University Archives (uvmsc@uvm.edu) to view papers submitted for the Nuquist and Bryan Awards.

Past Lifetime Achievement Award

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The Center recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the state of Vermont with our annual Lifetime Achievement Awards. Recipients are researchers, government leaders, community leaders, teachers, artists, historians who have had enduring, significant, and positive influences on the state, including our culture, civic life, research and educational institutions, and the daily lives of Vermonters.

Nominations will open in early 2026. 

YearRecipient
2024Marjorie S. Strong, former Assistant Librarian at Vermont Historical Society 
2024Paul Carnahan, former Librarian at Vermont Historical Society 
2024Jeffrey Marshall, former Director of Special Collections for UVM Libraries 
2020Kevin Graffagnino, former Curator of Vermont History for UVM Libraries (read nomination letters from Jeffrey Marshall (PDF), Sarah Dopp (PDF), and Nicholas Muller III (PDF) | Kevin Graffagnino's bio (PDF)
2019Paul S. Gillies, Vermont judicial history expert. Nominated by Gregory Sanford (Sanford's introductory remarks (PDF) | Gillies' remarks (PDF))
2018Giovanna Peebles, the Vermont State Archaeologist for 38 years. 
2017Kristin Peterson-Ishaq, Center Coordinator for more than 30 years. Nominated by Gregory Sanford (Peterson-Ishaq's comments (PDF))
2016H. Nicholas Muller, III, Ph.D.  Nominated by Kevin Graffagnino
2015Connell B. Gallagher, the long-time director of the Special Collections Department at UVM. Nominated by Jeff Marshall, Chris Burns, Prudence Doherty, Brooks Buxton, Wiz Dow, Gregory Sanford and many others.
2014Michael Sherman, Former Director, Vermont Historical Society. Presented by Greg Sanford.
2013Frank M. Bryan, John G. McCullough Professor of Political Science at UVM (retired 2013). Presented by Jim Douglas.
2012Fred E. Schmidt, Founding Director, UVM's Center for Rural Studies. Presented by Paul Costello. 
Spirit of Vermont award
John Bramley, Interim UVM President. Presented by Robert Tyzbir. 
2011Jane C. Beck, Founding Director, Vermont Folklife Center. Presented by Greg Sharrows and Andy Kolovos.
2010D. Gregory Sanford, Vermont State Archivist. Presented by Connell B. Gallagher.
2009Hubert "Hub" Vogelmann, UVM Professor Emeritus of Botany. Presented by Walter Poleman.
2008John Duffy, JSC Professor Emeritus of English and Humanities. Presented by Samuel B. Hand.
2007Esther Munroe Swift, librarian-archivist-researcher. Presented by Kevin Graffagnino.
2006Weston Cate, Jr., Vermont Historical Society Director, retired. Presented by Michael Sherman.
2006William A. Haviland, UVM Professor Emeritus of Anthropology. Presented by Giovanna Peebles.
2005Lilian Baker Carlisle, Historian. Presented by Samuel B. Hand.
2004Betty Bandel, UVM Professor Emeritus of English. Presented by Sarah L. Dopp.
2003Samuel B. Hand, UVM Professor Emeritus of English.
2002Mariafranca Morselli, UVM Professor Emerita of Botany.