Established in 1986, the Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes outstanding teaching and advocacy for history teaching at two-year, four-year, and graduate colleges and universities.
The Society for History Education shares the sponsorship of the award. The current prize amount is $1,000.
Eligibility
The award is intended for inspiring teachers whose techniques and mastery of subject matter made a real difference to students of history. Nominations of mentors or teaching colleagues are appropriate. An individual may not nominate his or her graduate thesis or dissertation adviser (current or within the past five years). At the time of nomination, a nominee must still be alive but may be retired or emeritus.
Application Process
Log into your MY AHA account at historians.org/myaha and click “Available Application Forms” in the AHA Awards, Grants, and Jobs section. If you don’t have an account, create one for free at historians.org/createaccount. If nominating someone else, select the Nominate button and search for the nominee’s existing record or create a new record.
- Fill in the application form, which includes the nominee’s contact information.
- Upload an Application Packet as a single PDF. Include the following documents:
- CV (up to 5 pages) highlighting educational experience, teaching, and advocacy of the nominee
- Selected syllabus (or syllabi) of the nominee
- Nomination letters (up to 5 letters, no more than 2 pages each). These letters can be from former students, colleagues, and others. Individuals organizing nominations should solicit a cross selection as appropriate to address the nominee’s outstanding teaching and advocacy. The letters can be included in the application packet or solicited through the application form.
Generally, one individual serves as the organizer for the nomination, writes one of the letters nominating the individual, procures the nominee’s syllabus and CV (condenses to 5-page limit as necessary), and contacts individuals to write additional letters of support. Self nominations are welcome.
Please Note: Entries must be received by May 15, 2025, to be eligible for the 2025 competition. Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2025 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2026 AHA annual meeting in Chicago.
For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.
Eugene Asher
The award is named for the late Eugene Asher (1929–88), for many years a leading advocate for history teaching. At the time of his death, he was executive assistant to the president and director of university relations at California State University, Long Beach. Asher was a figure well known in scholarly and teaching circles since the time of his employment at California State University, Long Beach, in 1959.