The award, given in memory of Darrick Hart, recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of public history by a Public History student over the course of his/her graduate career at the University of South Carolina in the areas of historic preservation, museums and material culture, or archival administration and library and information science.



Nominees must be currently-enrolled M.A. students in the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina or recent graduates who received an M.A. in Public History during the previous academic or calendar year.  The award recipient is selected by a committee of faculty and alumni from the Public History Program. Nominations may be made by faculty, students, alumni, and members of the wider public history community. Self-nominations are also welcomed.



Nominations should consist of a letter or letters describing the nominee's contribution to the field of public history.  Nominators should ask nominees to provide a resume and a short letter describing their accomplishments. Samples of work may also be submitted.



Nominations (4 copies in hard copy only please) should be sent by March 1st to:

Professor Allison Marsh
Department of History

University of South Carolina

Columbia, SC 29208

Direct any questions to Professor Allison Marsh at 803-777-0041 or MarshA@mailbox.sc.edu

Previous Recipients of the Darrick Hart Award

2003: Barbara Stokes

2004: Jennifer Fitzgerald

2005: Kristina Dunn

2006: Anna Kuntz

2007: Ashley Bowden
2008: Jan Levinson

2009: Carrie Giauque

2010: Lauren Safranek
2011: Lee Durbetaki
2012: Gabrielle Dudley
2013: Evan Kutzler
2014: Amanda Noll
2015:  Stephanie Gray
2016:  Sarah Lerch
2017: Connie Mandeville
2018: No award given
2019: Patrice Green
2020: No award given
2021: Carlie Todd

Who was Darrick Hart?

Darrick Hart died in October 2002 at the beginning of his career as an archivist and paper conservator. He had a long relationship with the University of South Carolina, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1995, his Master of Arts in Public History in 2000, and his Master of Library and Information Science in 2000. Following graduation, he took a position with Thomas Cooper Library, working as a preservation archivist and assistant conservator in the conservation lab and teaching University 101. As a graduate student and later as a young professional, Darrick worked extensively with the Columbia Fire Department as a volunteer archivist and historian, documenting the desegregation of the fire department through manuscript research and oral histories.

Over the years, a number of alumni and faculty have contributed to the fund that supports the Darrick Hart Award. Recently, Professor Constance Schulz had made a generous personal contribution that now makes the award self-supporting.