Professor Ed Larson Honored With Pepperdine University Stephen D. Davis Award for Scholarly Achievement for 2023

Pepperdine Caruso Law Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law and University Professor of History Edward J. Larson was honored with the Pepperdine University Stephen D. Davis Award for Scholarly Achievement at the University Faculty Conference held on September 29. The Stephen D. Davis Award for Scholarly Achievement was established to honor Pepperdine faculty displaying outstanding leadership and achievement in the generation of original scholarly and creative work. The award honors the contributions of Pepperdine faculty members who are strengthening the University's scholarly contributions and elevating its research reputation. Examples of such accomplishment include research publications of high impact, scholarly books, major musical and artistic products/exhibitions, mentoring of Pepperdine students resulting in scholarly accomplishment, receiving national or international award or recognition for work directly related to their scholarship, and leadership in securing major research grants from external agencies.

Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in History and numerous other awards for writing and teaching, Larson is the author or co-author of fourteen books and over one hundred published articles. His 2015 book, The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789, was a New York Times Bestseller and resulted in Larson being invited to deliver the 2016 Supreme Court Historical Society lecture in Washington, give the annual Gaines Lecture at Mount Vernon, and serve as a featured presenter for the Library of Congress's Madison Council event. His other books, which have been translated into over twenty languages, include An Empire of Ice: Scott Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science; A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign; and the Pulitzer Prize winning Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. Larson's articles have appeared in such varied publications as Nature, Atlantic Monthly, Science, Scientific American, Time, Wall Street Journal, American History, The Guardian, and dozens of law reviews. His latest book, American Inheritance, was published by W.W. Norton in 2023.

Additional information on the award may be found at Stephen D. Davis Award for Scholarly Achievement

Pictured below are professors Ed Larson, Stephen Davis, and Rodney Hunnicutt