Thomas Jefferson Award
About the award
When presented: At a Faculty Council meeting each year. The 2023-24 Award will be presented at a fall Faculty Council meeting.
How many: One award
Process: Nominations may be submitted by any member of the UNC-CH faculty. The Thomas Jefferson Award is presented by the Chancellor on recommendation of the faculty’s Honorary Degrees and Special Awards Committee .
Establishing document: Jefferson Regulation
Criteria: The Thomas Jefferson Award was established in 1961 by the Robert Earll McConnell Foundation. It is presented annually to “that member of the academic community who through personal influence and performance of duty in teaching, writing, and scholarship has best exemplified the ideals and objectives of Thomas Jefferson,” whose complex legacy includes the values of democracy, public service, and the pursuit of knowledge.
Eligibility: Any active member of the faculty is eligible, including those who are participating in the phased-retirement program.
Submit a nomination
Please note that nominations remain active for three years. If you have nominated anyone within the previous two years, renomination is not required; however, additional or updated materials may be submitted.
Please visit the “Submit Nominations” page at the left for instructions on how to submit your nomination. Nominations for the 2025 Thomas Jefferson Award will be accepted January 14 through February 25, 2025.
Past recipients, 1962-present
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Michael Gerhardt |
| 2023 | Patricia Parker: Citation | Awardee's remarks |
| 2022 | Geoffrey Sayre-McCord |
| 2021 | Lloyd Kramer: Citation | Awardee's remarks |
| 2020 | Ada Adimora |
| 2019 | John McGowan |
| 2018 | Connie Eble Sue Estroff |
| 2017 | Alice S. Ammerman |
| 2016 | S. Elizabeth Gibson |
| 2015 | William L. Andrews |
| 2014 | Joseph Templeton |
| 2013 | Gene Nichol |
| 2012 | Joy Kasson |
| 2011 | George Sheldon |
| 2010 | John Parkhill “Jack” Evans |
| 2009 | George Lensing, Jr. |
| 2008 | H. Shelton Earp |
| 2007 | Stephen Fredrick Weiss |
| 2006 | Michael A. Stegman |
| 2005 | Madeline G. Levine |
| 2004 | Charles E. Daye |
| 2003 | Joseph S. Ferrell |
| 2002 | Charles S. Stone Jr. |
| 2002 | Ruel W. Tyson Jr. |
| 2001 | Royce W. Murray |
| 2000 | Lawrence I. Gilbert |
| 2000 | Beverly Long |
| 1999 | Doris Waugh Betts |
| 1998 | Stuart Bondurant |
| 1997 | Donald Jicha |
| 1996 | Raymond Dawson |
| 1995 | James L. Peacock III |
| 1994 | Harry Gooder |
| 1993 | [No award] |
| 1992 | Frank Wilson, Jr. |
| 1991 | Ernest L. Eliel |
| 1990 | Mary Ellen Jones |
| 1989 | William B. Blythe |
| 1988 | John L. Sanders |
| 1987 | Richard J. Richardson |
| 1986 | Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. |
| 1985 | John Charles Morrow III |
| 1984 | Janet J. Fischer |
| 1984 | Newton D. Fischer |
| 1983 | George A. Kennedy |
| 1983 | Cecil G. Sheps |
| 1982 | Daniel H. Pollitt |
| 1981 | Richard H. Fogle |
| 1980 | William F. Little |
| 1979 | Lyle V. Jones |
| 1978 | Walter S. Spearman |
| 1977 | J. Dickson Phillips |
| 1976 | Joseph C. Sloane |
| 1975 | C. Hugh Holman |
| 1974 | Daniel T. Young |
| 1973 | Daniel A. Okun |
| 1972 | Eugen Merzbacher |
| 1971 | E. Maynard Adams |
| 1970 | Frederic N. Cleveland |
| 1969 | Charles B. Robson |
| 1968 | Dougald MacMillan |
| 1967 | William B. Aycock |
| 1966 | William L. Wiley |
| 1965 | Fletcher M. Green |
| 1964 | Henry P. Brandis, Jr. |
| 1963 | Rupert B. Vance |
| 1962 | Maurice T. Van Hecke |
