Albert I. Dickerson, for many years Dean of Freshmen, took great interest in first-year composition. In his memory, a prize has been established which will be awarded annually to that student who writes the best expository essay in a First-Year Seminar, Writing 5, and Writing 2-3, as decided by the prize committee nominated by the Director of the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric.
Each instructor should make a preliminary selection of the best essay written in his or her class each term. The instructor is permitted to make constructive criticism of the essay and the student is permitted to revise it before submitting it for competition to the Director of the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric. The instructor will obtain the agreement of the student before submitting a selected essay.
The competition entries will be judged by the prize committee after the completion of the Spring Term each year.
Dickerson Prize winners for 2008 are as follows:
Hanna Bobyk, "Dostoevsky's Troika and the Fate of Russia," written in Writing 2-3, taught by Karen Gocsik
John Merrill, "The Absence of a Yilané Writing System," written in a First-Year Seminar, taught by Timothy Pulju
Kimberly Solomon, "The Construction of Race," written in Writing 5, taught by Julie Kalish
