2009

Austin Sarat (co-winner)

 It is fitting that the inaugural award of the Stan Wheeler Mentorship Award should go to two of Stan’s mentees.  In a symposium that Bob Kagan and Austin Sarat organized (along with Patty Ewick) to honor Stan, they reflected on his legacy as a mentor:

“This…is but a small tribute to Stan’s extraordinary career and to the virtues of generosity and excellence, which have been combined so powerfully in Stan Wheeler the person.  We seek to recognize his deep and selfless investment in a generation of scholars who he did so much to nurture and his superb example of what it means to be a scholar.  We are all deeply in his debt.”

Austin and Bob emulated Stan’s generous spirit and channeled their energies to different sectors and activities within our intellectual community.

            Bob Kagan was recognized by his students, colleagues, and by scholars spanning the globe, disciplines, and generations who described him as a devoted and unflaggingly generous mentor who creates for mentees an atmosphere of intellectual camaraderie and discovery.  They characterize him as a tough and demanding critic, with exacting standards and high expectations, and a reputation for consistently offering thoughtful, constructive, incisive and incredibly thorough comments – often on draft after draft. “He has a talent,” said one, “for getting to the heart of an argument, bringing fresh insights to bear and turning a sow’s ear into a purse.” Yet his personal warmth allows students to overcome the inherent insecurities of graduate school, as he takes every idea seriously, and draws the best out of us all by wrestling early thoughts into full works of scholarship.   Many commented on Bob’s creativity in helping them develop novel and innovative research agendas.  He demonstrates a genuine enthusiasm for the material and imparts a joy in taking on fascinating substantive and theoretical questions, a gentle push away from dull or stereotyped topics, and a willingness to take on old questions in new ways.  Through his advice, criticism, and encouragement, he has changed the course of their scholarly careers.  By his example, they have learned how to be better teachers and mentors themselves. 

            Austin Sarat has been lauded for his many contributions to the cultivation of new scholars both institutionally and individually.  He is recognized for creating and nurturing varied institutions that support or showcase new scholars – from the LSA graduate student workshop and summer institute, to a new professional association in law and the humanities and myriad publishing venues – and for serving on countless committees to find ways to support graduate students and young professors.  At the individual level, Austin is described as generous, responsive, energetic, always available, always willing to talk and to listen, even to those to whom he has no institutional ties or responsibilities.  Mentees commented on his invaluable professional advice and feedback on their work.  He shows an unwavering respect for students and colleagues; he elicits our achievement by exhibiting a remarkable faith in our capacity to think and work at the highest levels.  They also remarked on Austin’s commitment to creating, enriching, and extending interdisciplinary networks, in proactively welcoming in new scholars, introducing and connecting them with others, and providing opportunities for engagement.   As two nominators observed, “We marvel at how instrumental one person could be in forging an intellectual community; in populating that community with scholars at every level of development; in creating countless venues for the exchange of ideas and collaborative engagement; and in dissolving the sorts of barriers to exchange and collaboration that commonly isolate students and scholars working in such diverse disciplinary contexts.”