Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award

The Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award was established to honor teachers of history who taught, guided, and inspired their students in a way that changed their lives. Mentoring is as important to the discipline of history as fine scholarship and good teaching. The ideal mentor is forthright, supportive, and constructively critical, committed to the student as a person, regardless of age or career goals. The award recognizes teachers who demonstrate belief in the value of the study of history and commitment to teaching it to students regardless of age or career goals, consistent personal commitment by the mentor to the student as a person, honesty and integrity, and contribution to mentoring as a one-to-one partnership in learning that enriches both professional and personal lives. The award is given on a three-year cycle rotating between graduate mentors, secondary school teachers, and undergraduate mentors. The 2026 award is specifically for undergraduate mentors.