The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which awards programs on behalf of individuals for excellence in their respective fields, honored professor Michael Fried with its fourth annual Distinguished Achievement Award for the 2005-2006 academic year.
Covering a three-year span, the award, which is valued at $1.5 million, was given to recognize Fried's significant contributions to humanistic inquiry, and will support specific institutional programs in both research and teaching.
The Foundation does not make grants to individuals, but contributes instead to educational institutions.
As the James R. Herbert Boone Professor of Humanities, a professor of the history of art, and chairman of the Humanities Center, Fried received this award for his work on 18th and 19th century European art, and 20th century American art.
According to the Mellon Foundation's Web site, the award's purpose is to "provide recipients and their institutions with resources to deepen and extend humanistic scholarship."
The Foundation's release, which officially named the recipients of the Distinguished Achievement Award, noted, "Through his historical monographs, the numerous exhibitions he has organized, and his important discussions of the theory of representation, Professor Fried's ideas have significantly influenced the critical practices of his own field as well as other disciplines, including English, Romance languages, history and philosophy."
His "exemplary" teaching of both undergraduates and graduates was also recognized.
Fried, whose accolades include the Prix Litt??raire Etats-Unis/France (2000), the Charles C. Eldredge Prize (1990), and The Louis Gottschalk Prize (1980), is "very pleased" that he has received this honor.
Fried stated in a Hopkins news release, "I'm extremely pleased about this award. It will have a huge impact on my life, and it's great for the University."
He plans to institute a semester-long graduate course for fall of 2006 with the funding for his award. Teaching alongside him will be Stanley Cavell, a prominent Harvard professor emeritus of philosophy.
"Mr. Cavell is a leading philosopher," said Fried, "and many people will be interested in him."
Fried also plans to attract renowned art historians to the Homewood campus during the 2005-2006 academic year.
"If you bring good people, it helps [the University]," he said.
Though Fried was individually honored for his impressive work, his enthusiasm is shared with his colleagues.
Alan Shapiro, professor of the classics and former classics department chairman, is "very pleased" about Fried's newly acquired award.
"He has brought recognition to the School of Arts and Sciences, to which he has been a loyal member," said Shapiro.
He continued, "Michael Fried represents interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching," which Shapiro contended is "characteristic of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences."
Like Shapiro, Daniel Weiss, the James B. Knapp Dean for the Krieger School, shares this sentiment.
Weiss said that Fried's accomplishment is "a source of great pride to the University. Moreover, the grant, in addition to recognizing his excellence, provides the school the opportunity to develop innovative programs that benefit students and faculty."
"Michael Fried is one of the eminent scholars working in humanities today," Weiss said.
Along with Fried, three other recipients were honored with the award. Professor John Dower of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor Philip Gossett of the University of Chicago, and Professor Christine Korsgaard of Harvard each received the award as well.
