Agricultural History Society Award for Public Engagement
Agricultural History Society Award for Public Engagement
The Agricultural History Society established the Effland-Grim-Reid Award for Public Engagement in Agricultural History in 2022. The award recognizes an individual, group, or organization that makes a significant contribution to broad public understanding of agricultural history or demonstrates creativity and innovation in practice, either through an exceptional activity or for a body of work characterized by professionalism and leadership within one or more communities or institutions.
Public engagement with agricultural history can take many forms but at its heart, this award aims to recognize public-facing activities that incorporate agricultural history as an essential component of the undertaking. Examples include but are not limited to documenting agricultural contexts in community history, contextualizing public policy, or supporting preservation of intangible cultural heritage that might be evident in management of agricultural landscapes, cultural practices, or traditions such as agricultural fairs. Other forms might include curation of a museum exhibition or archival collection, government service, cultural resource management, film and media production, historical interpretation and preservation, non-governmental policy advising, historical translation, non-academic publications, and historical consulting. Historians working in all types of institutions and in communities from local to international are encouraged to apply. The award may be given for an exceptional example of a public engagement activity or for a body of work reflecting sustained, high-quality public engagement.
Fig. 1. Heinz Tomato Harvest, 1910-1925 / THF117099. From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of H.J. Heinz Company.
The naming of the prize reflects the contributions to public engagement in the fields of agricultural and rural history by AHS members Anne Effland, Valerie Grim, and Debra Reid.
Fig. 2. Dorothy Nickerson, U.S. Department of Agriculture Color Specialist, March 30, 1927 / THF626448. From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Anne Effland retired from USDA in March 2022 after 32 years as an agricultural policy specialist and historian. Over her career she served as an historian, research social scientist, and policy economist with the Economic Research Service and the Office of the Chief Economist. Her research and analysis incorporated historical context and perspective into consideration of current policy problems, examining women and minority farmers and rural populations, small farms and rural community development, agricultural and rural labor, land tenure, U.S. and international farm policies, and the institutional history of USDA. Through publications and presentations, she reached a diverse audience of policy professionals, academic historians, and the broader public, both in the United States and internationally. She received a Ph.D. in Agricultural History and Rural Studies from Iowa State University and among other awards received the Agricultural History Society’s Gladys Baker Award and the Fred Woods Award for Public Policy Research and Education from the USDA Economists Group.
Valerie Grim, Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington (IUB), is an expert in agricultural history and rural studies. Her research, public/farm policy work, and community engagement concern African Americans and rural life, with an emphasis on rural development, rural policies, farm programs and policies, and the work and practices of Black Land-Grant Universities and their community outreach. She is especially concerned with Black land loss, heir-property rights, and just living for all rural Americans. She completed her PhD in History at Iowa State University, with a specialization in agricultural history and rural studies. She is a fellow of the Agricultural History Society.
Fig. 3. Mike Espy (left) U.S Secretary of Agriculture taking with Marcus Gumz (right), farmer in Wisconsin, July 1, 1993 / THF626456. From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Debra Reid, Curator of Agriculture and the Environment at The Henry Ford, was a fellow at Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1981. The experience satisfied requirements for her B.S. in Historic Preservation from Southeast Missouri State University and launched the Illinois farm girl on her museum and teaching career. Always interested in exploring what others overlooked, she focused on rural minority cultures in her academic teaching career, and her public history engagement. She is Emeritus faculty, Department of History, Eastern Illinois University, and continues to teach ACES 179: History of Illinois Agriculture as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois. Museum experience includes managing The Farmers' Museum, Inc., in Cooperstown, New York, and the Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village in Waco, Texas. She completed her PhD in History at Texas A&M University with a dissertation focused on African Americans and the agricultural extension and home demonstration service in Texas. It received the Gilbert Fite Award for the Best Dissertation in Agricultural History. Reid is also a fellow of the Agricultural History Society and recipient of the Gladys Baker Award.
The Award Winner(s) will demonstrate:
Depth of historical understanding and the ability to communicate historical context to non-specialists while preserving essential details and complexity
Creativity in approach appropriate to the intended audience
Evidence of effectiveness appropriate to the activity
If the nomination is for a body of work, evidence of professionalism and leadership in promoting public engagement in the fields of agricultural and rural history
Fig. 4. Charles Davis, age 13, carrying collard greens at Coconut Grove Organic Market, Miami, Florida, August 1979 / THF702136. From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
The application package, prepared as a single PDF file, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, will include:
Nominator’s letter (not to exceed 750 words) - self-nominations encouraged. The letter should describe the nature of the work undertaken, evidence of public engagement, and the work’s distinctive contribution to furthering public understanding of agricultural and /rural history
CV of applicant, limited to 2 pages (single spaced).
Additional supporting materials (limited to 2 pages), which may include webpage links, photographs of exhibitions or public programs, record of engagement with farmers or rural communities, archival collection/oral history repository created, historic structure reports, policy publications, etc.
The Effland-Grim-Reid Award Committee will adjudicate the competition. Please submit all materials to aghistorysociety@gmail.com as a single PDF document.
The deadline for submission of materials is January 31, 2025.