The Wendell Phillips Award was established in 1896 to honor Boston’s great orator and advocate for abolition and women’s and Native People’s rights. The award is given annually to a senior who demonstrates both marked ability as a speaker and a high sense of public responsibility. Selected by the Committee on Student Life, the winner is the one graduating senior invited to offer a speech as part of Commencement, and the speech takes place during the Baccalaureate Service. The speech is intended to deliver a social justice message for our time.
05/20/2017 – Medford/Somerville, Mass. – Isabella Kahhale, A17, recipient of the annual Wendell Phillips Award, addresses her classmates at the annual Baccalaureate Service on on the eve of Tufts University’s 161st Commencement on May 20, 2017. The Baccalaureate tradition began at Tufts University in 1864. The Wendell Phillips Memorial Scholarship is given annually to a senior, recommended by the Committee on Student Life, who has demonstrated a high sense of public responsibility on the campus. This is one of the two prize scholarships (the other being assigned to Harvard College) that were established in 1896 by the Wendell Phillips Memorial Fund Association in honor of Bostons great preacher and orator. (Alonso Nichols/Tufts University)
Faculty, staff, and students may nominate seniors to apply to be the Wendell Phillips Speaker, and seniors many self-nominate by October 31, 2017. All nominated students will be informed by mid-November 2017 and will be invited to submit an application, including a letter of application, a resume of leadership and service activities, and a recorded speech.
Nominate a senior student before the deadline here.
Applications are reviewed by the Committee on Student Life (CSL), and the CSL will invite finalists to present brief speeches at an open forum in mid-March in Goddard Chapel. The CSL will then select the winner. This award also carries a cash prize of approximately $900.
For more information, please contact the University Chaplain, The Reverend Greg McGonigle, at chaplaincy@tufts.edu or 617-627-3427.
Previous Wendell Phillips Award recipients:
2017 – Isabella Kahhale
2016 – Sharad Sagar
2015 – Michael Maskin
2014 – Jessica Wilson
2013 – Kristen Ford
2012 – Allister Chang
2011 – Brian Agler
2010 – David Mok
2009 – Anjali Nirmalan
2008 – Alexandra Pryor
2007 – Casey Beck
2006 – Mauricia Artinano A06
2005 – Eitan Hersh A05
2004 – Candace J. Gomez A04
2003 – Elaine P. Wang A03
2002 – Michael W. Ferenczy E02
2001 – Thea Lavin A01
2000 – Keshia Pollack J00
1999 – Alexander R. Shalom A99
1998 – Andrea D. Friedman A98
1997 – Eric A. Pliner A97
1996 – Ancy Verdier A96
1995 – Sarah L. McGinley A95
1994 – Adam Tratt A94
1993 – Randy Ravitz A93
1992 – Sharon Wachsler J92
1991 – Jonathan C. Cutler A91
1990 – Myra M. Frazier J90
1989 – Daniel A. Feldman A89
1988 – Michael D. Epstein A88
