Annual Awards

The Barry Bauska Award is given each year to the outstanding senior English major with an emphasis in creative writing. Professor Bauska taught in the English department for over forty years from 1971 to 2005. He developed the first poetry and playwriting classes at Puget Sound. Profess or Bauska is a published poet and scholar, and he has written creative nonfiction and drama as well. In addition, he served as Chair of the English Department.

The Kathryn Irene Rodgers Memorial Scholarship was established by Dr. J. Bruce Rodgers, who was Professor of Music at the university and who served as Director of the School of Music.  The award was established in memory of his wife.  Kathryn Irene Rodgers was a student in the first Writing Institute class taught by Professor Rosemary Van Arsdel at the university in 1970.  Mrs. Rodgers was a member of the Business and Professional Women's Organization and the Association of Professional Writers and Editors, serving as president of the latter organization in 1978-79.  The Rodgers Scholarship is given to an outstanding senior English major or minor who intends to pursue a career in professional writing. 

The Greenfield Award is given in recognition of Professor Peter Greenfield, who taught in the English department from 1983 to 2011.  The award recognizes a graduating senior who best exemplifies the innovative spirit of Prof. Greenfield, a Medieval-drama specialist who taught a wide range of plays (from  Aeschylus to Anna Devere Smith) and courses from “History of the English Language” to “Shakespeare and his Roots.”  The award is given to the student whose leadership has enhanced the intellectual life of our department through creative opportunities for conversation and discovery among students and faculty, who fosters connections across diverse perspectives, and who bridges the gap between the classroom and the “outside world.”

The Philip Hager Award is given each year to the outstanding senior English major with an emphasis in literature.  The late Professor Hager was a veteran of World War II.  He taught at the university for over thirty years from 1957 to 1983, specializing in British drama.  Over the years, Professor Hager also photographed cathedral-gargoyles.  With Desmond Taylor, Phil wrote three important reference works: a bibliography of World War I novels; a bibliography of World War II novels; and a bibliography of the philosophical novel.  He edited (with Harold Simonson) J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye: Clamor and Criticism (1963).