William Keylor Awarded Gitner Prize
William Keylor, Professor of International Relations and History at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, has been awarded the School’s Gerald and Deanne Gitner Family Prize for Faculty Excellence.
Keylor will be presented with the award’s commemorative silver plate at the Pardee School Convocation Ceremony on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at the Walter Brown Arena.
The Gitner Family Prize for Faculty Excellence was endowed by the Gitner Family in 2014. The Gitner Prize honors teaching and mentoring excellence and is awarded each year to a faculty member who embodies the School’s mission to advance human progress. The prize also includes a cash award. Pardee School Dean Adil Najam said that “the generosity of the Gitner family and the establishment of this award has allowed the School to recognize what Boston University and those now in the Pardee School have always valued highly – good teaching, mentorship, and service.”
William R. Keylor joined Boston University in 1972 as a Professor of History, and was a founding member of the Department of International Relations and the Pardee School. A legendary teacher, he has previously received Boston University’s highest teaching prizes, the Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching and the United Methodist Church Scholar-Teacher Award.
Professor Keylor has received Guggenheim, Fulbright, Woodrow Wilson, and Earhart fellowships. He has been named a Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Mérite by the French government. He served twelve years as Chair of the Department of History and one as interim chair of International Relations.
Professor Keylor’s two-course sequence, History of International Relations, is one of the longest-running and most popular courses at the Pardee School. Generations of students have described that course as foundational in their academic training and Professor Keylor as knowledgeable, accessible, enlightening, and encouraging. He is deeply respected by his colleagues, beloved by his students, and academic supervisor to many, many theses.
“Although we had a number of strong nominations – a testimony to the breadth of excellent teaching at the Pardee School – the selection committee was unanimously impressed by Professor Keylor’s long-standing commitment to International Relations and his students,” Najam said. “He exemplifies the exceptionally talented and dedicated faculty we are lucky to have at the Pardee School.”
One student nomination described him as “One of the kindest human beings and an excellent teacher. His class made me interested in history and in international relations.” Another nomination, from a faculty colleague, pointed out that Professor Keylor’s “classes ensure that all of our students have the firmest grounding in all parts of the world.”
Student evaluations of his classes are peppered with comments such as “Best course at BU!” and “Amazing professor and amazing class!” In the space for “Weaknesses,” the most common response is “None.”