The Sidney Prize is awarded to a student whose paper, essay or article in a magazine, newspaper, or journal best demonstrates a dedication to high ideals. Named for American philosopher Sidney Hook, the prize is sponsored by The National Association of Scholars. The prize honors Hook’s commitment to the defense of academic freedom and the integrity of scholarship.
In recent years, a number of Sidney winners have examined the intersection of science and the humanities. For example, this year in the New Republic, intellectual heavyweights Steven Pinker and Leon Wieseltier went toe-to-toe over the proper role of science in modern thought. Pinker took the expansive view that, despite what some blinkered humanities professors might argue, the sciences give us insight into nearly everything.
In the field of journalism, two alumnae—Grant Robertson and Kathryn Blaze Baum—received Hillman prizes for their work on Canada’s food safety system, which led to a deadly Listeria outbreak and avoidable deaths. Similarly, The Guardian’s Steven Fraser won the 2025 Hillman prize for his coverage of Britain’s Brexit vote and its effect on workers. Fraser, a biographer of the foundation’s namesake, is also this year’s winner of the Sol Stetin Award for Labor History, which he has won previously for his work on the impact of globalization on workers.
Art history major Sophia Jactel (B.A. ’20) received the Sidney Thomas prize for her paper on nineteenth-century Dutch artist Josef Israels’ print “The Smoker.” Her research helped her curate this fall’s exhibition, Domesticities: The Art of Daily Life, which was based on the Syracuse University Art Galleries’ holdings. The paper was also used as the basis for her senior thesis, which will be published in the journal Church History.
Since 1950, the Hillman Foundation has awarded these annual prizes to journalists worldwide for reporting that exemplifies reportorial excellence and storytelling skill in service of social justice. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that their work has had a significant impact on the community. Recipients receive a $5,000 honorarium and a certificate designed by New Yorker cartoonist Edward Sorel.
The Overland Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize is open to writers, internationally and nationally, at any stage in their writing career, for stories that explore the theme of ‘travel’ in any form or genre. This year’s judges, Annie Zhang and Andre Dao, selected a shortlist of eight pieces and chose a winning story, two runners-up and one highly commended. Overland is proud to support the prize in partnership with the Malcolm Robertson Foundation and in memory of Neilma Sidney, who was a former Overland editor. The prize is generously supported by the foundation and administered by Overland, Australia’s literary and cultural magazine.