COLA Support and Awards
The annual Gary Lindberg Award was established by the College of Liberal Arts in 1986 in memory of Professor Gary Lindberg of the Department of English. Professor Lindberg was an exceptional scholar and outstanding teacher whose dedication and service to the University of New Hampshire as well as the wider community exemplified the highest academic standards and ideals.
In memory of Professor Lindberg and as a means of publicly supporting superior faculty accomplishment, the College of Liberal Arts annually recognizes one truly outstanding scholar and teacher within the College. The award carries a $5,000 stipend. The recipient is invited to present the Liberal Arts Lecture to the public during the following academic year.
Lindberg Nomination Information
Go to Lindberg Nomination Page
2022 Lindberg Award Recipient

Lucy Salyer, professor of history, has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the Lindberg Award, given annually to the outstanding teacher-scholar in the College of Liberal Arts. Professor Salyer earned her Ph.D. in jurisprudence and social policy at UC Berkeley’s School of Law in 1989 and joined the UNH history faculty that same year. She has been a force ever since: in the classroom, in her research, and in service, where she has been vigorously engaged in helping students, the university, the profession, and the public understand issues of law, immigration, and U.S. social history.
At both the undergraduate and graduate level, Professor Salyer’s students give glowing reviews. Her department colleagues say students “have flocked to her” because of her devotion to their success and careful guidance. Her leadership and dedication in the graduate program have launched careers. One recent Ph.D. graduate — now assistant professor at a prestigious institution — has just published her first book with Cambridge University Press. Another, newly hired on the tenure track, is the only person in the 50-year history of UNH’s graduate history program to win a prestigious Charlotte Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, achieved under Professor Salyer’s guidance. “Lucy sets a high bar, and her classrooms are places of deep scholarly engagement,” the former student notes. “Lucy modeled intellectual risk taking.”
Professor Salyer’s investment in teaching and mentoring is matched by an outstanding research portfolio. She is the author of two books, “Under the Starry Flag: How a Band of Irish Americans Joined the Fenian Revolt and Sparked a Crisis in Citizenship” (Belknap Press, Harvard UP, 2018), which won the Myrna Bernath Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and “Laws Harsh as Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law” (University of NC Press, 1995), which won the Theodore Saloutos Memorial Award from the Immigration and Ethnic History Society for best book in immigration history. Between these publications, she produced a deeply researched and extensive study of the California Supreme Court, as well as several articles and book chapters. Professor Salyer’s work has been recognized with grants and fellowships from the NSF, NEH, and ACLS, among others.
An internationally recognized historian, Professor Salyer is frequently engaged for her expertise. While her participation in both professional and public forums has been consistently robust across her career, she has been active in recent years as issues of immigration and citizenship have become flashpoints in the U.S. and elsewhere. She has organized webinars and teach-ins, consulted on and moderated public dialogues, contributed to an amicus brief for a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and conducted media and documentary film interviews. From Portsmouth to California and beyond, her voice has been sought after by those who strive to advance understanding of immigration and citizenship today.
Professor Salyer has demonstrated that she possesses the highest qualities of scholarship and teaching and is most deserving of the Lindberg Award.
Previous Lindberg Award Winners
John Mayer |
Psychology 2021 Communication 2020 English 2019 Education 2018 History 2017 Theatre 2016 History 2015 English and Humanities 2014 English and Linguistics 2013 History and Humanities 2012 Philosophy and Humanities 2011 English 2010 English 2009 Art 2008 Communication 2007 History 2006 English 2005 History and Religious Studies 2004 Sociology 2003 English 2002 Psychology 2001 History 2000 Geography 1999 Education 1998 Philosophy 1997 History 1996 Music 1995 Psychology 1994 Humanities and Theatre 1993 Communication 1992 History 1991 English 1990 LLC/French 1989 History 1988 English 1987 |
This award recognizes impactful and innovative curricular strategies aimed at increased learning/teaching effectiveness. Examples may include (but are not limited to) new ways of teaching that promote student engagement, reorganization of a course/structured activities that improves students’ ability to apply what they learn either inside or outside the classroom, and/or the promotion of inclusive group-learning activities. The award carries a $1,000 stipend.
All teaching faculty are eligible to apply. Self-nominations are encouraged.
Criteria:
- Creative curricular innovation begins with solid pedagogy: applicants must exhibit extensive knowledge and mastery of the course subject matter
- Innovation in course and curriculum design across a range of courses taught by the faculty member
- Evidence of the faculty member’s ability to inspire, guide and engage students in achieving their academic and career goals
Application/Nomination requirements:
- 1- to 2-page (single-spaced) statement demonstrating award criteria using specific empirical examples from their courses
- Up-to-date/current CV
Please send your nomination(s) to Kayla Laurie by March 24, 2023 (kayla.laurie@unh.edu).
Past Award Recipients
- Melinda White, English, 2021 (first place) and Ekaterina Burvikova, Languages, Literatures and Cultures, 2021 (second place)
- Ivo van der Graaff, Art and Art History, 2020 (inaugural award)
The College of Liberal Arts provides limited support (up to $500) for research-related activities, with particular preference given to those that will advance efforts to secure external grants and fellowships, such as travel to funding agencies in Washington, DC. There is no deadline for applications, but once funds have been depleted for a given year, requests will be deferred until the following fiscal year. To apply, please briefly describe your project and proposed budget in less than one page, indicating what if any support your department will provide. This should be addressed to Dean Michele Dillon and submitted electronically. We ask for your chair's endorsement, only in the form of a signature, so please send a copy of your application to him or her. If your request is approved, support will take the form of reimbursement of documented expenses. Please address any questions to Michele Dillon.
For summer 2023, COLA gift funds will support faculty research/artistry through up to three summer stipends of $8,000 each to tenure-track faculty of any rank. To be eligible for consideration, the faculty member must have submitted a completed competitive grant or fellowship application to an external agency in the past year (2022) that was declined for funding. Ordinarily, teaching summer school or receipt of University summer awards cannot be combined with a summer research stipend. The $8,000 research stipend will be paid in June 2023.
Application Requirements:
- Unfunded grant application from 2022
- Brief outline of any subsequent progress on the grant project (or of progress on a new/different project)
- Up-to-date/current CV
Please send your application materials to Kayla Laurie by March 24, 2023 (kayla.laurie@unh.edu).
Limited funds are available to faculty members on an ad hoc basis to support their professional development. Proposals should be made through one’s chair and support from other sources should be sought as well.
John and H. Irene Peters Professorship in Education
This award recognizes a faculty member in the Department of Education and is intended to provide support for teaching, research, service and other activities. The award carries an annual allowance for a three-year term, which may be used to support any bona fide professional expense.
Lamberton Professor of Justice Studies
This award recognizes outstanding achievement in scholarship and teaching in the field of justice studies. The award carries an annual allowance for a three-year term.
Pamela Shulman Professorship in European and Holocaust Studies
This award recognizes an outstanding tenured faculty member who will contribute to the study of European and Holocaust studies in the classroom as well as in research in this area. The Professorship carries an annual allowance that is intended to support outreach and networking initiatives that foster professional relationships with other centers of study, as well as lectures on campus and in the region.
Burnham Estate Faculty Summer Residency Fellowship
A gift from the Burnham Trust makes possible a short-term residential fellowship for tenure-track, lecturer, clinical, and research faculty who wish to pursue pedagogical, writing, or artistic activity in a rural retreat setting. See the document below for more information on the estate.
Fellowship recipients will be offered short-term summer stays typically ranging from 3 to 14 days between July 1 and August 20, 2023 at the Burnham Estate in Grafton Center, NH.
Interested faculty should submit a completed application. The number of fellowships awarded will depend on the number of applications received.
Application requirements:
- Cover Sheet: see form below
- Justification narrative (500 words maximum) that includes the topic, project description, work plan (how the Burnham Residency Fellowship will fit into the project goals), and requested time period/specific dates for residential occupancy
- Updated CV
- Signature from the appropriate department/program chair, director, or coordinator on the cover sheet form
Application materials should be submitted electronically to Jenni Cook in the COLA Dean’s Office by March 24, 2023 (jenni.cook@unh.edu).
- Liberal Arts Burnham Faculty Fellowship Summer 2023 application: PDF format Word format
General Information
Link to photos of Burnham Estate
COLA's Center for the Humanities hosts and sponsors interdisciplinary conferences; supports faculty programs, projects, and lectures; and offers faculty fellowships, an endowed chair, stipends, and workshops.
Other UNH Support and Award Opportunities (Selected List)
Each year, the University selects a small number of its outstanding faculty for special recognition of their achievements in teaching, scholarship, and service. Awards for Excellence in Teaching are given in each college and school, and University-wide awards recognize public service, research, teaching, and engagement.
Nomination Information
Award Recipients
Winners are profiled on the Faculty Excellence Awards website
2022
University-wide Awards
Lina Lee, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Excellence in International Engagement
Excellence in Teaching
Nicoletta Gullace, Department of History
Nena Stracuzzi, Department of Sociology
Nina Windgätter, Department of Philosophy
2021
University-wide Awards
Kurk Dorsey, Department of History
Graduate Student Mentor Award
Ellen Fitzpatrick, Department of History
Jean Brierley Award for Excellence in Teaching
Ethel Sara Wolper, Department of History
Excellence in International Engagement Award
Excellence in Teaching
Kimberly Alexander, Department of History
Jennifer Borda, Department of Communication
Kathryn McCurdy, Department of Education
2020
University-wide Awards
Kabria Baumgartner, Department of English
Outstanding Assistant Professor
Jason Sokol, Department of History
Outstanding Associate Professor
Charlotte Witt, Department of Philosophy
Distinguished Professor Award
Scott Smith, Department of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies
Jean Brierley Award for Excellence in Teaching
Greg McMahon, Department of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies
Excellence in International Engagement Award
Excellence in Teaching
Harriet Fertik, Department of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies
Alex Holznienkemper, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Michael Leese, Department of History
2019
University-wide Awards
Svetlana Peshkova, Department of Anthropology
Excellence in Public Service Award
Jeannie Sowers, Department of Political Science
Excellence in International Engagement Award
Excellence in Teaching
Renee Heath, Department of Communication
Alecia Magnifico, Department of English
Charles Vannette, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (German)
2018
University-wide Awards
Eliga Gould, Department of History
Distinguished Professor Award
David Richman, Department of Theatre and Dance
Jean Brierley Award for Excellence in Teaching
Excellence in Teaching
Jennifer Armstrong, Department of Philosophy
Monica Chiu, Department of English
Kristen Swann, Department of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies
2017
University-wide Awards
Andrew Boysen, Department of Music
Excellence in Research Award
Mary Fran Malone, Department of Political Science
Excellence in International Engagement Award
Scott Weintraub, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Outstanding Assistant Professor Award
Janet Polasky, Department of History
Jean Brierley Award for Excellence in Teaching
Excellence in Teaching
Raina Ames, Department of Theatre and Dance
Susan Curry, Department of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies
Kevin Healey, Department of Communication
2016
University-wide Awards
Gregory McMahon, Department of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies
Jean Brierley Award for Excellence in Teaching
Judy Sharkey, Department of Education
Excellence in International Engagement Award
Excellence in Teaching
Amy Boylan, Department of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies
Stephanie Harzewski, Department of English
Susan Siggelakis, Department of Political Science
Previous winners can be found on the Faculty Excellence Awards website
The Provost's Office awards University Professorships, Presidential Chairs and Professorships.
The University supports professional development through Faculty Development Grants and research through the Faculty Scholars Program; it supports a host of other opportunities through the Engagement and Faculty Development program.
Provost's Office Faculty Support
Engagement and Faculty Development Program
The Graduate School awards Summer Faculty Fellowships. Contact Dean Cari Moorhead, Cari.moorhead@unh.edu, for information.
The Global Education Center awards competitive grants for internationalizing faculty engagement and development.
Check out this website for the most comprehensive information about support for research and other scholarly activities provided by units within UNH.