UC DAVIS NEWS SERVICE -- Walker was recognized for his teaching, scholarship and service today when UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi surprised his Jacksonian America class to announce that he has won the 2015 UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.
The prize, established in 1986, honors faculty who are exceptional teachers and scholars. The $45,000 prize is believed to be the largest of its kind in the country and is funded through gifts from the UC Davis Foundation.
“A world-class scholar and public intellectual, Professor Walker has been a leader in his field for decades,” Katehi says. “Passionate about teaching, his lectures challenge assumptions and encourage students to shed a critical eye on their place in the world.” He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from San Francisco State University and was planning to go into Civil War history, but a professor told him his career would move quicker if he focused on African American history.
Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis