![\"Hamiltons](\"https:\/\/davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/10\/15-0224-e1307560821847.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nPresident John Kuykendall<\/a> sign the agreement to increase the Hunter-Hamilton Love of Teaching Award from $10,000 to $15,000 on
\nJanuary 27, 1997. <\/strong><\/em>
\n15-0224<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Dr. James Hamilton also was motivated to create this award by his experience at Davidson as a student.\u00a0 Having traveled a lot when he was young, he did not have a formal education with transcripts, so Davidson\u2019s president at the time John Cunningham<\/a> accepted Hamilton \u201con faith\u201d after talking to his grandfather, James Pressly.\u00a0 He also received a scholarship to help pay for his tuition.\u00a0 While at Davidson, Hamilton was impressed with the teaching ability and personal devotion of Professor of Biology Olin Puckett, who always took extra time to help students understand lessons of biology and of life.<\/p>\n Grey Hunter Hamilton\u2019s inspiration for the award came from her maternal grandfather Dr. E. L. Reid, who was a chemistry professor at Erskine College and who was fondly known for his concern for students.\u00a0 Additionally, at the time they created the award, the Hamiltons had a son, Hunter, Class of 1992, at Davidson.<\/p>\n The criteria for receiving the Hunter-Hamilton Love of Teaching Award include five years of teaching experience at Davidson College, including any sabbatical leave, and he\/she must “have established a record of contagious enthusiasm for classroom teaching and tutelage; be dedicated and patient with students, with service to them being of highest priority; have the ability to stimulate extraordinary accomplishments in students, including those with average abilities as well as those with exceptional abilities; have an ability to clarify complex matters for students; be able to build in students self-esteem, self-reliance, and a desire to learn; [and] treat students with dignity and respect as impressionable persons with individual hopes, fears, pains, and histories\u2014making every effort to know them by name.\u201d<\/p>\n Nominations can be made by any Davidson graduate, student or faculty member.\u00a0 After all the nominations and letters of support are received, a committee, comprised of five previous award winners, selects the winner. More information is available on this website<\/a>.<\/p>\n The first Hunter-Hamilton Teaching Award was presented during the 1992 graduation ceremony to Professor of Economics Charles E. Ratliff.\u00a0 The award initially was awarded to one faculty member and was accompanied by a prize of $10,000 to be used by the faculty member as he or she saw fit.\u00a0 At first, there was some consternation among the administration and staff concerning the large amount of the award and lack of regulation as to how the award money could be used.\u00a0 In 1995, the award\u00a0was changed\u00a0to be given to two professors with each being awarded $10,000. \u00a0Half of the prize was awarded to each of the recipients, and the remaining amount was allocated to a department of each recipient\u2019s choosing. The first awards under this system went\u00a0to\u00a0Professor of History Malcolm Partin and Professor of English Gill Holland.\u00a0 In 1997, the award was increased to $15,000 for each recipient.<\/p>\n