Carter G. Woodson Awards for Academic Excellence
About the Awards
The Carter G. Woodson Awards for Academic Excellence were founded in 1983 by Dr. Daryl Dance, the distinguished scholar of African American and Caribbean literature, who served as program coordinator during the 1983-84 academic year. Dr. Dance established the Ceremony to recognize the students' academic excellence in line with the work and philosophy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
In the founding year, Dr. Dance invited academic units and organizations to recognize a student who has made an important contribution. The nominating units established criteria for selecting recipients. Since the inaugural awards, more than 550 students have been recognized by more than 50 departments and organizations.
2025 Awards
How to Submit a Student
The deadline to submit was February 14th, 2025, thanks to all nominating departments and organizations!
About the Selection Process
Departments, units and programs conduct an internal nomination and selection process to select student recipients. Recipients are typically chosen based on criteria such as academic excellence, service to the university or community, and intern, professional or work experiences that place them at the forefront of their careers.
The 2026 ceremony will be held on February 25th, from 6 - 7:30pm in the Singleton Center's Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall
- Departments traditionally provide a gift for their recipient, such as a book or a plaque.
- Recipients are announced in February in conjunction with Black History Month. A reception may be held at a later date in the semester.
- We request that departments/units provide a brief statement about the recipient’s accomplishments and why they were chosen that we can feature on our Recipients page.
Celebrating Award Recipients
The Department of African American Studies holds a celebration for the award recipients each year. Details are posted here and on our Events page.