Celebrating Excellence and Achievement at the Third Annual KICD Awards Luncheon

Students and faculty were honored for their exceptional accomplishments over the past year—and, in many cases, years—on Tuesday, May 13, during the Kinder Institute’s annual spring awards ceremony at Reynolds Alumni Center. Among other things, the event celebrated graduating seniors and members of the MA cohort, with individual awards presented across several categories. View photos from the event here.

Campus Collaborator Award: Shawn Hall

This award recognizes a campus colleague who embodies the Kinder Institute’s commitment to teamwork and collaboration. The 2025 recipient is Shawn Hall, Business Support Specialist in the Department of Black Studies. Hall is always quick to promote, support, and attend Kinder Institute events. He regularly reaches out with partnership ideas and thinks creatively about ways to work together.

Derrick-Patman Award for Faculty Excellence: Dr. Charles Zug

Thanks to the generosity of Jim Derrick and Carrin Patman, every year we’re able to recognize a faculty member whose current research project best reflects the Kinder Institute’s commitment to producing innovative, nuanced scholarship on the ideas and events that shape (and can re-shape) our understanding of constitutional democracy both in the U.S. and around the globe. Dr. Charles Zug is the 2025 recipient and will use the prize to devote time to his third book, The Mythology of American Federalism (under contract with Oxford University Press). This book argues that the idea of a limited central government of “strictly enumerated powers” is a myth—one articulated and deployed by officials with an interest in truncating the power of the national state and entrenching local authority, as well as by those who desired a strong center but sought to cloak it in the language of local home rule.

Oxford for Oxford Scholarship: Taylor Tomblinson

Katie Oxford, wife of late advisory board member Pat Oxford, presented the inaugural Pat Oxford for Oxford Scholarship to Taylor Tomblinson. The award enables students from Mizzou to study abroad in the UK through one of our signature programs. Next academic year, Taylor will be studying history at Corpus Christi College as the Kinder Institute’s eighth undergraduate Oxford Fellow.

Latitude (Graduate) and Chandran (Undergraduate) Prizes for Student Writing: Maeve Ewing and Emily Boyett

These are our most academically oriented student awards, focusing on scholarly production that demonstrates depth, range, and contour of intellect. The Latitude Prize recognizes the best essay written in the core “Atlantic History & Politics” seminar that all graduate students in our one-year MA program take, while the Chandran Prize recognizes the best essay written for the Kinder Institute’s longstanding undergraduate Journal on Constitutional Democracy.

Outstanding Undergraduate Contribution to the Kinder Institute Intellectual Community: Elise Milburn

The afternoon’s final award honored a graduating senior pursuing a BA in Constitutional Democracy who exemplifies the scholarly spirit of the Kinder Institute. This year’s recipient, Elise Milburn, excelled in the classroom and demonstrated a commitment to intellectual curiosity and community building. She was a constant presence on the fourth floor of Jesse through her coursework, research projects, and involvement in Kinder Institute programs and events. Returning to present the award was 2024 recipient Jackson Bailey.