A renowned organization that advances the teaching of Slavic studies honored Elon University history professor David Crowe this month for his “rich, diverse body of groundbreaking scholarship,” classroom instruction and leadership in the academic field.
At its annual convention this past week, the Southern Conference on Slavic Studies awarded Crowe the Richard Stites Senior Scholar Award for significant contributions to the field of Slavic, East European and Eurasian studies.
The award is named for Richard Stites, a renowned professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Madeline Levine, the Kenan Professor of Slavic Literatures at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, nominated Crowe for the 2010 award.
Crowe said that the honor came as a surprise. “And that, I guess, is what pleased me so much – that a very prominent Slavic linguistics scholar at Chapel Hill was familiar enough with my work to make such a recommendation.
“As academics, we live in a very critical world and to receive that kind of recognition and praise is, well, both humbling and gratifying.”
The organization also sponsored a special conference panel on Crowe’s scholarship, which focused on his three principal works – The Holocaust: Roots, History and Aftermath; A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia; and Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story Behind The List.
One of Elon’s most prolific scholars, Crowe was named the first recipient of the university’s Distinguished Scholar Award in 2000. His biography of Oskar Schindler in 2004 received worldwide acclaim for its groundbreaking view of a historical figure.
He is president emeritus of the Association for the Study of Nationalities at Columbia University and served as a member of the Education Committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. from 1990-2004
Crowe has been a fellow at the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and Eastern European Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Visiting Scholar at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University.