Barbezat said he was both surprised and excited to find out he had won the award. "I did not even know that I was nominated," he said.
The selection process occurs without the participation of the nominee. "The teaching committee receives the nominations," said Barbezat. "Then they contact the person's department and request letters from current and previous students as well as from the chair of the department."
The committee reviews those letters as well as the nominee's course materials and then selects the winner. "The person who wins is out of the loop until the award is given," said Barbezat.
While Barbezat doesn't know which of his students wrote letters on his behalf, he did hear excerpts from those letters at the award ceremony. "It was a very sweet thing. At the ceremony, the presenter quoted from some of my students letters. I was happy to hear my students 'reactions to my teaching," he said. "I was very pleased and honored."
The award is given in memory of Jonathan Hughes, a professor of economic history and respected scholar, according to the College's Web site. The award includes a cash prize of $1,000, according to the Economic History Association's Web site. The Association was founded in 1940 to encourage the study and teaching of economic history.