May 15, 2018
Rebecca Graff awarded 2018 Dunn Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarly Promise
Rebecca Graff
At the Class of 2018’s Senior Honors Convocation, two professors were awarded the prestigious William L. Dunn Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarly Promise. Assistant Professor of Anthropology Rebecca Graff was one of the recipients.
The William L. Dunn Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarly Promise is presented to a non-tenured faculty member whose combined teaching and scholarship are judged to be outstanding by a committee of teaching faculty. This year, two professors were awarded the honor, Graff and Assistant Professor Brian McCammack. Dean of Faculty Michael Orr presented the awards at the Senior Honors Convocation on May 11.
Graff joined the faculty of Lake Forest College in 2014 after receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkley, earning her master’s degree and PhD at the University of Chicago, and teaching as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Michigan Technological University.
At Lake Forest College, Graff teaches a wide array of sociology and anthropology courses at the College from 100-level introduction and First-Year Studies courses to upper-level courses. Known for her passion and enthusiasm for teaching and engagement with students through hands-on experimental learning projects, she has single-handedly developed a new archaeology curriculum.
As a scholar, Graff has established herself as a leading authority on the urban archaeology of Chicago, and is awaiting the publication of her new book, The Vanishing City and the Enduring Home: Archaeology of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and the Charnley House. She has also published numerous papers, some of which explore the food of the World’s Fair, the Chicago’s Underground Railroad, and how new meanings are created when fragments of previous structures, such as the famous stones on the exterior of the Tribune Tower in Chicago, are incorporated into new buildings.
“As a popular and engaging instructor and as an expert on the urban archaeology of Chicago, Graff is a worthy recipient of the William L. Dunn Award,” Orr said.
