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Columns::October 13, 2003
A taste of college life: UGA hosts weekend for parents, families
Carter, Knight Foundation president, to give McGill Lecture
Campaign for Charities kicks off
UGA team will debate Oxford Union about UN role in Iraq
‘Breakthrough’ discovery
Earth Day philosophy influences public service associate’s career path
Retirees
Kudos
Conferring with the faculty
Foundation Fellows spend summer in international public service
News from around the world
Campus News
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| A scholar in Middle Eastern history, Eve Troutt Powell joined UGA’s history department in 1995. (Photo by Peter Frey) |
Prof makes history
Eve Troutt Powell becomes first UGA faculty member to receive MacArthur Fellowship
By Phil Williams
phil@franklin.uga.edu
Eve Troutt Powell, an associate professor of history, has been named a recipient of a “no strings attached” $500,000 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the first faculty member in UGA history to be so honored.
The MacArthur Fellows Program is designed to emphasize the importance of the creative individual in society. Fellows are selected for the originality and creativity of their work and the potential to do more in the future. Candidates are nominated, evaluated and selected through a rigorous and confidential process. No one may apply for the awards, nor are any interviews conducted with nominees.
Troutt Powell is the only faculty member in the southeastern United States and one of only four faculty from public universities to be named a 2003 MacArthur Foundation Fellow.
“Dr. Troutt Powell’s selection by the MacArthur Foundation is but one more indicator of the amazing strength and ability of the University of Georgia faculty,” says President Michael F. Adams. “It also speaks to the quality of the faculty we have been able to attract in recent years, which bodes very well for the future of the University of Georgia.”
Each new recipient first learns of being named a MacArthur Fellow during a phone call from the Foundation.
“The call comes out of the blue and can be life-changing,” says Jonathan F. Fanton, president of the MacArthur Foundation. “The fellowship offers highly creative people the gift of time and the unfettered opportunity to explore, create and accomplish.”
“I am really grateful, astounded and also thrilled that my field is being represented,” says Troutt Powell. “The U.S.’s relationship with the Middle East and how we are dealing with it has never been worse. I hope my work contributes in some way to understanding this vital part of the world.”
The MacArthur Fellows Program places no restrictions on how recipients may use the $500,000 (paid out in equal quarterly installments over five years), and no reports are required. Rather, the stipend is an expression of confidence that the recipients know how to make best use of the fellowship’s resources and the visibility it can bring to advance their distinctive efforts. Just as there are no restrictions on how the Fellows use their awards, there are no constraints on the kinds of creativity that are recognized.
“Dr. Eve Troutt Powell is truly an outstanding faculty member who excels in teaching and scholarly work,” says Arnett C. Mace Jr., senior vice president for academic affairs. “She is admired by students for her passion, enthusiasm, intellect and genuine interest in her students’ education. She is equally admired as a scholar in Middle Eastern history.”
Wyatt Anderson, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was enthusiastic to learn of the award. “We are delighted that Dr. Troutt Powell has received this prestigious award, and we think that her work has certainly earned this distinction,” he said. “It is a high honor for an outstanding faculty member.”
Edward J. Larson, head of the history department and recipient of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for history, echoed that sentiment. “I have watched Eve Troutt Powell develop as a scholar since she came to the University of Georgia as an assistant professor in 1995. Her most recent book, A Different Shade of Colonialism: Egyptian Nationalism and the Mastery of the Sudan, 1875-1925, is simply brilliant. It draws on a rich variety of sources and interprets them in important new ways,” he said. “She richly deserves this fellowship. I could not be more proud of her or happy for her family.” |
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