Taking inspiration from Professor of History Molly Wood and the late Walter LaFeber, the Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor in the Department of History at Cornell University, The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) recently announced the creation of its first-ever prize to honor exceptional teaching of diplomatic history at the collegiate level.
The LaFeber-Wood Prize for Distinguished Teaching will now recognize exceptional and creative teaching annually in the field of American diplomatic history. Both Wood and LaFeber are/were long-standing SHAFR members who are/were well-known for their commitment to teaching and their skills in the classroom. The award comes with a cash prize, and recipients will be selected by the SHAFR teaching committee.
“The award is named after two of the most dedicated and exceptional professors in the field of American foreign relations: Walt LaFeber at Cornell and Molly Wood at Wittenberg,” said Mitchell Lerner, president of SHAFR and professor of history and director of the East Asian Studies Center at The Ohio State University. “Molly was chosen for this honor because of her years of exceptional teaching at Wittenberg, her passionate devotion to her students, and her decades of service to the organization in the teaching realm. Dr. Wood stands as the model of what a history professor should be, and Wittenberg should be incredibly proud to have her teaching their students.”
Wood joined the Wittenberg faculty in August 1999 and teaches courses in U.S. history, U.S. foreign relations and international studies, modern world history, women’s history, and Latin American history. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., a master’s degree in history from the University of Richmond, and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Virginia. She is currently the co-chair of the SHAFR Teaching Committee, a committee that she has served on for three terms and is the first person elected to the teaching seat on SHAFR’s governing council.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Wood is the director of Wittenberg’s Honors program and is a past recipient of the Edith B. & Frank C. Matthies Teaching Grant. She has served on multiple teaching panels at the annual SHAFR conference and penned numerous teaching-related articles for SHAFR publications including as a regular contributor to the organization’s blog.
A former president of the Ohio Academy of History, Wood received the group’s distinguished service award in 2015. Many of her writings have been published in academic journals such as Diplomatic History and The Journal of Women’s History.
LaFeber passed away in March of 2021 at the age of 87. He joined the faculty at Cornell in 1959 and retired in 2006 after 46 years. He was the first-ever recipient of Cornell’s John M. Clark Teaching Award and the university’s Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowship in 1994 for excellence in undergraduate teaching. A much-beloved professor and mentor, LaFeber wrote and co-authored 20 books.
This prize will be awarded annually at the SHAFR summer conference.
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