The $1,000 award recognizes keen interest in philosophical questions and outstanding work in philosophy courses. The award is named in memory of Professor Sheldon P. Peterfreund.

Eligibility

• Syracuse University juniors and seniors are eligible for nomination. Nominees and recipients of the prize need not be Philosophy Majors or Minors.

Criteria

• ability to construct and present clear and forceful philosophical arguments
• originality and creativity of philosophical thought
• depth and breadth of philosophical understanding
• skill and style as a writer of philosophy

Nomination and selection

• Candidates for the prize may be nominated by any member of the Philosophy Department faculty or teaching staff. Nominations will be solicited by the Director of Undergraduate Studies during the spring term. Nominators are free to include supporting letters with their nominations if they wish to do so. In their letters, nominators should describe the context in which they have known the nominee and their reasons for regarding him or her as deserving of such recognition.
• The winning candidate will be selected by the Director of Undergraduate Studies in consultation with the Philosophy Department faculty.

Professor Sheldon P. Peterfreund

Shel Peterfreund taught in the Philosophy Department at Syracuse University for more than forty years, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses. The text he co-authored with Ted Denise, Great Traditions in Ethics, is one of the most widely used, and one of the longest in publication, in any subject. (The first edition appeared in 1953, and it is now in its twelfth edition.) Tina Peterfreund has endowed this award in his memory, and it will be awarded annually to an outstanding student who exhibits the kind of excellence that Shel Peterfreund nurtured during his career here.

Recipients of the Sheldon P. Peterfreund Award

• Lori Eisenberg - 1997
• David K. Moore - 1998
• Hector Fadraga - 1999
• Nita E. Castillo - 2000
• Rachael Briggs - 2001
• Kevin Selhi and Douglas Weck - 2002
• Zachary Sparer - 2003
• Douglas Watson - 2004
• Anthony Mainolfi - 2005
• Alex D. Coon - 2006
• Christopher T. Lloyd - 2007
• Ilona Savich - 2008
• Jeremy J. Prettyman - 2009
• Peter Finocchiaro - 2010
• Kathryn Brophy - 2011
• Joshua S. Lynn - 2012
• Brooke Baerman - 2013
• Alexander Sammartino/Alexander B. Fernandez - 2014
• Adeyemi A. Adediran - 2015
• Yalun Li - 2016
• Miquon Jackson - 2017
• Nordia Mullings - 2018
• Ada Sevimli – 2019
• Austin Church and Michelle Nunez-Garcia - 2020
• Yiwen Gu - 2021
• Silas Derfel - 2022
• Ian McMurry and Olivia Porter - 2023
• Eleanor Czajkowski and Annika Swientek - 2024