Prizes by Department or Subject

ALBERT BILDNER TRAVEL PRIZE (1977). Albert Bildner, Class of 1937. For Latin American Studies majors and other Yale College students who are in their junior year, for research in the field the summer between the junior and senior years. All students who are doing research on Latin America for their senior essays are eligible to apply; however, preference will be given to Latin American Studies majors.

DONALD ANNIS (1908). Mr. and Mrs. Newton Annis of Detroit, in memory of their son, Donald Annis, Class of 1910. For the best record as a freshman and sophomore in courses in English and German aggregating not less than twelve hours of classroom work.

LOTHAR HAUSMANN MEMORIAL FUND (1976). Romy Hausmann and Herman Mark Harris, Class of 1957. To be awarded to a graduating senior for excellence in German, German Studies, or German as part of the Comparative Literature major.

MONTAIGNE. Anonymous gift (1914) and bequest (1932) from Edward Bement, B.A. 1870. For juniors and seniors for proficiency in speaking and writing French. Awarded on the basis of a written or oral examination, the exact date to be announced in March. Not open to students whose French has been chiefly acquired abroad.

SCOTT (1873). Henry W. Scott, B.A. 1863. Book prizes are offered as follows:

• In French: For the student in any French course numbered 160 or higher who, having written an outstanding midyear examination, submits the best essay (in French) in the course.
• In German: For an undergraduate essay written on a topic in German literature. The winning essay will be selected by the faculty of the German department.
• In Russian: For an undergraduate essay written on a topic in Russian literature. The winning essay will be selected by the faculty of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese is pleased to celebrate the 48th anniversary of the Albert Bildner, Yale Class of 1937, Prizes in Latin American Languages and Literatures for undergraduates in Yale College. Four prizes of $500 will be awarded for high achievement in the Spanish and Portuguese languages and in Latin American Literature.

1. In honor of Professor José Juan Arrom (Yale, ‘37), Professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature at Yale from 1945 to 1975. For an outstanding essay to be written in acceptable Spanish on any subject in Latin American Literature and/or culture; it will be judged mainly for the originality and importance of the ideas presented therein. All undergraduates studying Spanish at Yale are eligible to compete. The deadline for submitting appropriate projects is Friday, April 17, 2020. For more information or to submit your project, please contact Professor Noël Valis (DUS, Spanish).

2. In memory of Patricia Bildner. For an outstanding essay written in Portuguese on any subject in Brazilian literature and/or culture. The paper is to be written in acceptable Portuguese; however, it will be judged mainly for the originality and importance of the ideas presented therein. All undergraduates studying Portuguese are eligible to compete. The deadline for submitting appropriate projects is Friday, April 17, 2020. For more information or to submit your project, please contact Professor K. David Jackson (DUS, Portuguese).

3. To that graduating senior who has achieved a high academic average in Spanish courses, and has also demonstrated the greatest development in his or her knowledge of the Spanish language and Hispanic literature since beginning the study of Spanish at Yale. The student must have taken a satisfactory number of courses in Spanish language and Hispanic literature. For more information, please contact Prof. Noël Valis (DUS, Spanish).

4. In honor of Prof. K. David Jackson, the Brazil prize is awarded to a graduating senior who has achieved a high academic average in Portuguese courses and has also demonstrated the greatest development in his or her knowledge of the Portuguese language and Luso-Brazilian literature at Yale. The student must have taken a satisfactory number of courses in Portuguese language and in Luso-Brazilian literature. For more information, please contact Prof. K. David Jackson (DUS, Portuguese).

The Albert Bildner Travel prize of $500 to $900, administered by the Council of Latin American and Iberian Studies (CLAIS), Yale Center for International and Area Studies. Open to third year undergraduate students only, the Bildner Prize supports travel to Latin America or the Caribbean for summer research related to the undergraduate senior essay. The project proposal must be written in both English and Spanish or Portuguese. For details, please contact CLAIS, MacMillan Hall, Room 342, at 203-432-3422.

In honor of Christopher Ballantyne (’82), an artist, musician, and world traveler who spent his early years in Rio de Janeiro. Christopher died unexpectedly in 2017 at age 59. The prize was established in his honor by his father, Robert Ballantyne (’49), his sisters, brother and their families, and close friends. Christopher was a gifted linguist with a degree from the Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas (Rio de Janeiro) and an M.A. in Portuguese and Brazilian literatures from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Prof. K. David Jackson. He had been working at Georgetown University in instructional technology at the Law Center.

For an undergraduate or graduate research project including literature or linguistics, to be conducted in Brazil during a summer (minimum 8 weeks) or a semester study abroad. Applicants should submit a formal proposal, document language competency, Yale transcript, a CV and two letters of recommendation.

The deadline for submitting appropriate projects is Friday, April 17, 2020. For more information or to submit your project., please contact Prof. K. David Jackson (DUS, Portuguese).

For an outstanding essay to be written in Spanish on any subject in Spanish Literature and/or culture. The paper is to be written in acceptable Spanish; however, it will be judged mainly for the originality and importance of the ideas presented therein. All undergraduates studying Spanish at Yale are eligible to compete.

The Yordán Prize of $500 has been allocated from an endowment established by Jaime Yordán in the name of his teacher, Roberto González Echevarría, to support the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Jaime was a student at Yale from 2011 to 2013. Prior to that he was a Managing Director at JPMorgan & Co. and a General Partner; he later became a Managing Director at Goldman, Sachs & Co. At JP Morgan, he worked on the Mexico business and at Goldman, he was in charge of the Latin American investment banking business.
His undergraduate studies were at Hamilton College where he majored in Modern Languages, including Spanish. He joined Hamilton’s Board of Trustees in 1993 and chaired the Board’s Committee on Instruction. He is currently Emeritus Trustee of the College.

The deadline for submitting appropriate projects is Friday, April 17, 2020. For more information or to submit your project, please contact Prof. Noël Valis (DUS, Spanish).

WOLFGANG LEONHARD PRIZE IN RUSSIAN AND EAST EUROPEAN STUDIES. Established by the gift of James Leitner, B.A. 1975, the prize honors a distinguished former member of the faculty in Russian and East European Studies. Awarded to the senior who has written the most outstanding senior essay related to Russia or East Europe. Submission deadline: April 22, 3:00 p.m. Submit essays by email .