Williams College Book Award

For many years, the College has sponsored a book award program that allows regional associations to present an ornately bound Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, adorned with a large Williams seal to local students. The book is presented to “a junior in the top five percent of his or her class who has demonstrated intellectual leadership and has made a significant contribution to the extracurricular life of the school.” The dictionaries cost $37 and are paid for by the regional association. In 2004, 570 students received a Williams Book Award. Most associations have a book award coordinator who oversees this annual project. Not all associations distribute dictionaries; some have ordered Whitney Stoddard’s book on Williams architecture, and one region, Rhode Island, makes its award to local eighth-graders, not high school students. The program is flexible and can be adapted in various ways by individual associations. This is a good project for large and small regions alike. Many schools appreciate having a Williams alum or parent actually present the book at the school’s awards ceremony. For more information, see details