2 professors earn national award

University professors are two of 186 recipients of the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowships for excellence in academics.

Gerald Postema, a Cary C. Boshamer Professor of philosophy, and Donald Raleigh, a Jay Richard Judson Distinguished Professor of history, received the distinction and will receive a portion of the $7,112,000 available for research.

Judith Wegner, chairwoman of the faculty, said faculty members’ success in winning the awards reflects well on the University because the fellowships are not easy to get.

“They are distinguished faculty, and I’m glad they were successful in seeking the awards,” she said.

The Guggenheim Foundation provides fellowships for individual professionals in a variety of fields.

Raleigh was recognized for his work in Russian history on a book about Soviet baby boomers. As part of his work, he is preparing a collection of full-length interviews for collection by Indiana University Press.

Raleigh was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Postema was honored for his work in law and philosophy on public discipline.

Postema has been a part of the campus community for 25 years, but in the coming year he will take a leave of absence to pursue the subject of his fellowship, “The Discipline of Public Reason,” and act as a fellow at the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park.

He said UNC professors’ ability to receive the award looks good for the school as a whole.

“It shows that the University has people on this faculty recognized for scholastic excellence,” Postema said. “I regard myself as very lucky and greatly honored.”

He said the program gives a small number of fellowships across the country and in a large range of disciplines.

“This is an extremely prestigious fellowship,” he said. “It is a very broadly based academic program and is extremely competitive.”

Postema said his fellowship has both a historical and contemporary focal point.

“I hope to better understand the nature of practical reasoning as it was understood in the common law tradition to understand the idea of practical knowledge starting in the 17th century,” he said.

Postema said his fellowship grew out of work he has done for a long time.

“I see this project as a culmination of thinking and speaking and writing on this topic, much of which has formed my teaching over the last two decades,” he said.

Wegner said the fellowships are highly competitive awards that are quite highly regarded and handled on a national level.

“I think it’s important for us to emphasize attention on the international issues set forth in these projects.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.