Two history professors received named scholar positions for their contributions in education and research in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Professor Roderick Wilson, an associate professor in the Department of History and the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, received a Conrad Humanities Scholars Award.
The Conrad Humanities Scholars Award recognizes promising mid-career scholars and provides financial support for continued achievement, research, and scholarship in the humanities. The designation is for three years. The awards are funded by a gift from the late Arlys Conrad (AB, ’44, education).
Wilson’s research examines the environmental relations between people and their local habitats in Tokugawa and modern Japan. He’s currently working on a book about urban and environmental history in Tokyo.
Professor Adrian Burgos, Jr., a professor and chair of the Department of History received the Norman P. Jones Professorial Scholar award. The award honors exceptional mid-career tenured faculty members and offers discretionary research funding for three years.
Burgos is a historian that specializes in U.S. Latino history, sport history, urban history, and African American history. His research focuses on the migration and immigration experiences of Latinos within the U.S., and how Latinos have become part of U.S. society while striving to maintain their cultural identities. He's currently working on a project on the history of the Puerto Rican Day Parade.