Mission Prize

A crucial part of the WSFH’s mission is to help foster an educational community that is actively committed to achieving equity and inclusion in the production and transmission of knowledge about the francophone world. To that end, the Tyler Stovall Mission Prize recognizes teachers and scholars who are doing outstanding work to combat structural inequalities in the field of French History, the profession, and their home institutions, broadly construed. By celebrating individuals who are developing tools and practices that challenge inequity, oppression, and discrimination, not only through research but also through teaching, mentoring, and professional leadership, the Tyler Stovall WSFH Mission Prize proudly signals the Western’s belief that such work is an essential part of what it means to be an exemplary citizen and educator. The Tyler Stovall WSFH Mission Prize offers a $2000 cash award.

Rationale

The WSFH acknowledges that all forms of professional activity—teaching, mentoring, student advocacy, exhibitions, activism, institutional leadership, and publishing—are vital to the enterprise of higher education and to society at large. The Tyler Stovall WSFH Mission Prize celebrates and rewards high achievement in any combination of the above activities in so far as they demonstrate the ideals of equity, inclusivity, and diversity encapsulated in the WSFH mission statement.

The Mission Prize aims to institutionalize validation for this kind of work in the field of French and Francophone History. The Prize embodies the Western’s commitment to recognize educators and scholars who prioritize equity and inclusion—values that are too often marginalized in traditional academic settings—and the Western’s willingness to invest real resources to give full force to that recognition. 

The WSFH decided to name the prize after Dr. Tyler Stovall who passed suddenly on December 10, 2021. As a groundbreaking scholar and vital mentor who provided invaluable service to the field, Dr. Stovall exemplifies the ideas and ideals that the Mission Prize was created to recognize.

Eligibility Requirements

Nominees must have been employed in the past twelve months at an educational institution that engages with French and Francophone History such as a museum, archive, library, or institution of higher education (research university, liberal arts college, community college, etc.). Research/ instructional or administrative/professional faculty, adjuncts, lecturers, clinical professors, professors of practice, and tenure-line professors (assistant, associate, full) will all be considered. Nominees must have earned a Master’s degree or above

Nomination and Submission Process

Candidates for the Prize can self-nominate or be nominated by someone else. Nominations are due 15 December each year. This year, the deadline has been extended to 31 March 2024. All nominees will be invited to submit a cover letter and a CV for review. Shortlisted nominees will be asked for more materials.

Nominations (to be submitted by 31 March, 2024):

1. Nominations (name, institutional affiliation and position, contact information, and a brief 150-word rationale) should be sent to wsfhmissionprize@wsfh.org.

2. Committee members will email nominees alerting them that they have been nominated and sending list of materials to submit a cover letter and a CV if they wish to move forward as candidates for the prize.

3. Only nominees who send in materials will be considered further, allowing those who were nominated but did not want to be considered to opt out.

First tier:

1. Candidates send CV and a 2-page cover letter with a description of how their work embodies the WSFH’s Mission Statement.

2. Committee decides on who continues to second tier (around 10 nominees).

Second tier (to be submitted by June 15, 2024):

1. Candidates submit a portfolio documenting work to foster equity and inclusion in the production and transmission of knowledge about the francophone world. Portfolios will vary for each candidate but may include any of the following:

1. Descriptions and materials for events, excursions, trainings, workshops, exhibitions, service or leadership engagements

2. Syllabi for courses taught

3. Publications (books, articles [journal, newspaper, newsletter, etc.], blogs/vlogs, interviews)

4. Artistic productions

Questions may be directed to wsfhmissionprize@wsfh.org.

Evaluation

Submissions will be evaluated by a standing committee of 3-5 people selected from the Governing Council, membership, and outside of the WSFH to serve a fixed term of two years.

The first guiding principle for the evaluating committee is to judge submissions on the professional and societal impact, which may mean looking beyond traditional publication venues and forms. The committee will not evaluate nominees according to the professional division between research, teaching, and service, but will instead take a holistic approach to the nominees’ contributions to the profession. This approach means evaluating leadership, mentorship, non-traditional publications, and traditionally recognized research as constituent parts of what makes French and Francophone history accessible, relevant, and important to today’s society. In the spirit of the Mission Prize, the committee welcomes nominations from a range of historically related fields aside from traditional French history. These include, but are not limited to, African, Caribbean, Disability, Ethnic, Gender, Global, LGBTQ, and Postcolonial Studies.

The second guiding principle for the committee is self-reflection. At all stages of the evaluation process, the committee will examine its own implicit and explicit biases and assumptions about the academic profession and the study of the francophone world. 

Announcement of winner/s

The winners of the Tyler Stovall WSFH Mission Prize will be announced at the annual meeting of the WSFH.