Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities
The Class of 1879 Prize is awarded by the Humanities & Arts department yearly for excellent work in the culminating project for the Humanities & Arts Requirement. These projects must demonstrate exceptional creativity and skill in conceiving, developing, and expressing a theme within any discipline in the humanities and arts.
History of the Prize
WPI has recognized exemplary work in the humanities and arts since 1872, when the department of English and Modern Languages established an award for the best paper in composition classes. At its reunion in 1900, the Class of 1879 endowed this prize for a paper "on a topic of general interest." The endowment was continued by Spencer Miller 1879, who wanted “to encourage graduates of the Institute to develop the art of clear and lucid English in the discussion of engineering subjects.” The Class of 1879 Prize was then awarded annually to the best term paper in the departments of English, History, and Languages until the adoption of the WPI Plan in 1970. In 1983, the department of Humanities & Arts began to award the Class of 1879 Prize to the best Humanities Requirement Projects.
The Class of 1879 Prize has evolved alongside WPI. Today’s prize-winning projects rarely concern engineering subjects, and some aren’t even traditional essays. But we still honor the spirit of Mr. Miller’s prize, to encourage and reward the highest achievements of human expression.
Details for each year's competition are announced in November/December, with a deadline for submission in January. For information on the competition and how to submit your project for consideration, please contact the HUA office at ext. 5246 or at huaweb@wpi.edu.
Note: Prizes awarded for projects completed the previous year.
Browse Award Recipients
Year | Recipient | Name | Title | Awarded by | Type | Department | Details |
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2009 | Don Havener | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "The Encyclopedia and the Third Estate," advisor B. Addison |
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1989 | Sharon A. Savage | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "How the Organic and Mechanistic Conceptions of Life Apply to the Body and to Medicine," advisor: Iris Young |
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2022 | Clara Dublin Advisor: John Galante | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "From Entrance to Evacuation: The Development and Destruction of Japanese Immigrants’ Community Network in Seattle" |
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2004 | Laura E. Baldassari | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Flute Music of the Classical Period," advisor: Douglas G. Weeks |
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1983 | Julie Anne Beberman | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | ||
1999 | Richard E. Harang | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Mind and Materialism," advisor: Marianne Janack |
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2018 | Rosa Reynoso | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “The Muslim World in Transition—Rediscovering True Islam,” advisor: W.A. Bland Addison |
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2011 | Sarah Conlin | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Infamy: The Before After", Advisor James Cocola |
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1994 | Scott J. Higgins | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Who Am I? The Problem of Identity," advisor: Bettina Bergo |
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2020 | Minh Anh Kieu | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Insiders, Outsiders, and In-Between: Asian Nonimmigrant Experience in the American Context of Intersectional Racism" advisor: Jennifer McWeeny |
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2009 | Everett Tripp | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Why They Fought: The Working Class in Empire," advisor: P. Hansen |
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1989 | Paul F. Wojiak | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Obstinacy and Naïveté: The Organized Labor Movement in Worcester, Massachusetts, During the 1930's," advisor: Robert L. Kolesar |
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2024 | Jillian Crandall. Advisor: Despoina Giapoudzi | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | Biology & Biotechnology | Performing Arts: “Directing is Like a FishBowl: A Project Portfolio.”
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