Introduction

The Shirley S. and Bernard Kazon Collection in Special Collections is launching an annual “academic prize” to promote student engagement with the collection, in line with the donor’s wishes.  To fit the academic environment of the 21st century, “essay” has been expanded to include any creative original scholarly work using items from the collection, produced by a USM student. This may be a written essay, an exhibition, a podcast, or any scholarly project.

  1. The Kazon Academic Prize will be announced by the Coordinator of Special Collections by the end of the second week in September.
  2. Entries must be submitted by the second Friday in March by 4pm.
  3. Eligibility.
    1. Undergraduate students currently enrolled in USM.
    2. Any creative work that uses at least one item from the Kazon Collection and includes original research. Only one submission per student.
    3. All entries will be accompanied by a reflection statement and a bibliography.
    4. Entries can be class assignments or work by students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, or any academic internships.
    5. By submitting, students grant the library a non-exclusive license to use their work.
  4. Judging.
    1. The Committee, appointed by the Coordinator of Special Collections, will be composed of four faculty from academic departments related to the intellectual content of the Kazon Collection and the Coordinator of Special Collections
    2. Faculty will serve two-year, staggered terms.
    3. The Steering Committee will develop criteria and a rubric for judging submissions.
  5. Awards.
    1. There will be two prizes: 1st prize $1,000; honorable mention $500.
    2. The award ceremony will take place in the third week in April.
    3. The winner and honorable mention will both give brief presentations of their research.
    4. A speaker, either internal or external to USM, chosen by the Steering Committee, will deliver a keynote address.

Implementation

  1. The Kazon Academic Prize will be announced in February 2026, including a request for nominations to the Steering, encouraging faculty who have brought classes to use the Kazon Collection.
  2. By the end of March the committee should be in place and will have until the end of the semester to create the judgement criterion/rubric.

PRIZE TIMELINE

Second week in September                                          Kazon Academic Prize Announced

Second Friday in March by 4pm                Deadline for entries

Second Monday in April                                                  Deadline to privately contact winners.

Award Ceremony                                                 During the third week in April.

Bernard Kazon, vice president of Eastland Shoe Corp., collected political works of early America as well as documents related to slavery, sparked by a gift of political biographies from his wife, Shirley, and daughter. The Kazons donated their collection to University of Southern Maine in 1997.  The Collection consists of printed items documenting American political history from the 18th-20th centuries, with the bulk dating from the 19th century concerning slavery and the civil war, including books, pamphlets, and broadsides.

The LC call number for books in this collection includes the suffix Kazon.

Search the Shirley S. and Bernard Kazon Americana Collection with LibrarySearch.

Browse selected digitized items from the Shirley S. and Bernard Kazon Americana Collection on USM Digital Commons.