Paul Gagnon: January 6, 1925 - April 28, 2005
A giant has passed from our lives.
It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of NCHE Trustee, Paul Gagnon. Paul was the first Executive Director of NCHE, after having served as Chief of Staff, Editor, and Principal Investigator for our predecessor organization, the Bradley Commission on History in Schools. Paul loved and respected history teachers, identifying their work as essential to the maintenance of a democratic society. He was adamant the all students have the opportunity to learn the story of their country and the world. He fought tirelessly for standards and frameworks for history that identified a core of history that could be taught in the time available and cautioned against curricula that are too encyclopedic to be taught, or too vague for students to understand. NCHE's Board of Trustees is developing an annual Paul Gagnon Prize that will recognize history teacher/scholars, and those in our community who make a special contribution to the promotion of history education. The NCHE Board of Trustees has established the Paul Gagnon Memorial Fund in honor of their fellow Trustee who just passed away.
The Paul Gagnon Memorial Fund will support an annual Paul Gagnon Prize which will seek to encourage two of Paul's cherished interests: continuing scholarship on the part of K-12 history teachers; and the promotion and protection of history education in the K-12 curricula, state and/or local.
The first Gagnon Prize will be given for exceptional historical scholarship by a K-12 history teacher. The second Prize will be given to an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to the promotion of history education. The Prize will then alternate each year between teacher-scholar winner and history education promotion winner.
How to contribute to the Paul Gagnon Memorial Fund
NCHE has set aside funds to administer the Prize and welcomes contributions from individuals and organizations that wish to join us in honoring Paul's memory. Make checks payable to NCHE and write "Gagnon Prize" on the memo line. Send to: Gagnon Prize, NCHE, 26915 Westwood Rd., B-2, Westlake, OH 44145; if you want to put your contribution on a credit card, just call the NCHE office: 440-835-1776.
Apply for the Paul Gagnon Prize
Applications are closed for the 2008 Prize. Check back for details on applying for the 2009 prize. The 2008 Prize will be awarded at the NCHE National Conference in Louisville, KY April 3-5, 2008. Click here for application information.
Prize Recipients
- 2007 Recipient: Philip Nicolosi, Secondary Teacher, West Morris Central High School, Chester (NJ)
Contributors
(alphabetical order, as of October 12, 2006)
- American Federation of Teachers, DC
- Marjorie Bingham, MN
- Gerard Braunthal, MA
- Richard H. Brown, IL
- Mike Bruner, KS
- Thomas J. Carten, Jr., MA
- Margaret M. Condon, MN
- Allan L. Damon, NY
- Alice & Edwin Delattre
- Dennis Denenberg, PA
- Mario De Pillis, Sr., MA
- Will Fitzhugh/The Concord Review, MA
- JoAnn Fox, IN
- Frederick C. Freitas, MA
- Georgianne Ginder, VA
- Susan Goldsmith, MA
- George Goodwin, MA
- Robert A. Greene, MA
- Homer J. Hagedorn, MA
- Joy and Sam Hakim, CO
- Wm. Ray Heitzmann, PA
- The History Channel, NY
- Byron Hollinshead, NY
- Kenneth T. Jackson, NY
- Arthur Kaledin, MA
- Kansas Council for History Education, KS
- Lawrence and Lucille Kaplan
- Dale Katzen, NY
- Henry G. Kiernan, NJ
- Robert Kingdon, WI
- Charles A. Knight, MA
- Phyllis and Kenneth Krutsch, WI
- Henry Lea, MA
- Lewis Mainzer, MA
- Rev. Sherrin Marshall, PA
- David McCullough, MA
- Janet Mitchell, MN
- New Jersey Council for History Education
- Doug Phillips, AZ
John Pyne, FL - Mimi Quintanilla, TX
- Elaine Wrisley Reed, OH
- Jan and Joe Ribar, OH
- Albert Shanker Institute, DC
- Fuad Safwat and Ruth Bennett, MA
- Luther W. Spoehr, RI
- Robert J. Steamer, NY
- Sandra Stotsky, MA
- Jacqueline Thornhill, CA
- Glenn and Gloria Tinder, MA
- Keith Wheelock, NJ
- William and Molly Woehrlin, MN
- Gordon Wood, RI
- Debbie Woodard, ID