2017 recipients, Katharine Ambrester and Zoe Zaslawsky, with Jeannie Feldman.Jeannie Feldman has established both an award and a scholarship in the Department of History to honor her late husband, Dr. Glenn A. Feldman.
To say Dr. Glenn Feldman was beloved would be an understatement. Students, colleagues, family members, friends—regardless of whom you ask, they all have something wonderful to say about him. After his death in October, 2015, Dr. Wayne Flynt, Auburn University Professor Emeritus, who mentored Feldman during his doctoral studies, said, “He was enormously generous and kind. He was always promoting younger people’s careers.”
Feldman, a professor in the Department of History, was also a prolific author and a renowned scholar of contemporary Southern history, with 11 books to his name, including Politics, Society and the Klan in Alabama: 1915-1949, and Nation Within a Nation: The American South and the Federal Government. “Although Glenn was primarily an historian of the South and of American business, he was knowledgeable and curious of what his colleagues were teaching and researching in completely different areas,” says Dr. John Van Sant, chair of the Department of History. “For example, he often stopped me to ask about Japanese history, or about the latest news from Asia. And he always had a positive attitude, whether mentoring undergraduate and graduate students or discussing an agenda item during a faculty meeting. He always exuded positive energy.”
Feldman’s widow Jeannie, along with their daughters Hallie and Rebecca, decided to honor his legacy of compassion, joy, and scholarship with two annual funds in the Department of History. The Dr. Glenn A. Feldman Memorial Student Writing Award will be used to recognize deserving undergraduate and graduate students. The Dr. Glenn A. Feldman Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship will be used to provide financial assistance to deserving graduate students.
“Glenn Feldman could not be quiet,”Jeannie says. “He crusaded for those who didn’t know they deserved to be heard. He was humble about his many accomplishments but quite verbose about injustice and oppression. Glenn told me he knew he’d been given the gift of writing, but he said this gift was not to be used for his own gain; it was a true calling. He left an indelible mark on the world in his writing and scholarship. He just wanted to make a difference. The recipients of these awards have the opportunity to continue this legacy, to be a voice for others, and to make their own difference.”
