The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. has named Rutgers-Camden professor emeritus and MARCH founder Howard Gillette as its 2018 Visionary Historian Award recipient. Dr. Gillette spent twenty-nine years at George Washington University and founded its Center for Washington Area Studies in 1980. He was the second editor of Washington History, the Historical Society of Washington’s scholarly journal, published biannually since 1987, and served on the organization’s board of directors. His 1995 work, Between Justice and Beauty: Race, Planning, and the Failure of Urban Policy in Washington, D.C., helped shift the paradigm of the city’s historical scholarship from ‘great white man’ theory to its present intersectionality.
Dr. Gillette began his professorship at Rutgers-Camden in 1999. His 2005 work, Camden After the Fall, which document’s the city’s decline and renewal efforts after the failure of its industrial center, received best book awards from the New Jersey Historical Commission and the Urban History Association. He currently serves as co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, published at MARCH.
Dr. Gillette will accept his award at the Historical Society’s anniversary celebration, May 10, 2018, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Tickets will go on sale on March 1.
D.C.'s Visionary Historian Award Presented to MARCH Founder Howard Gillette
Dr. Gillette was chosen as the Historical Society of Washington, DC's 2018 award recipient based on his long tenure at George Washington University and his works on the city's history.