Inaugurated in 1990, the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities honors distinguished individuals who have strengthened the educational, cultural, and civic life of North Carolinians through their life’s work. The award is named for its first recipient and a founding member of North Carolina Humanities, the late Dr. John Tyler Caldwell.
Come for an unforgettable experience!
Join North Carolina Humanities for a charming three-course lunch where you will hear captivating stories that celebrate North Carolina and North Carolina Humanities’ work across the state. You’ll enjoy conversation, musical performances, book giveaways, and more as we celebrate the rich cultural heritage of our state over a shared meal together.
The afternoon’s program will culminate with a very special oral history showcase from and conversation with North Carolina Humanities 2024 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities recipients Dr. Jacquelyn Dowd Hall and Dr. Robert Korstad. As lifelong historians dedicated to amplifying voices and stories, Hall and Korstad will share stories of North Carolina and the modern South.
This year all event proceeds will go towards supporting North Carolina Humanities’ prize-winning, virtual, statewide book club program, North Carolina Reads, which annually features five books that explore issues of racial, social, and gender equity and the history and culture of North Carolina.
- 2023 – Clyde Edgerton
- 2022 – Steve Crump
- 2021 – Alex Albright
- 2020 – James W. Clark, Jr.
- 2019 – Jaki Shelton Green
- 2018 – Margaret Donovan Bauer
- 2017 – Bland Simpson
- 2015 – Harvey Gantt
- 2014 – Edwin Graves Wilson
- 2013 – Sally Dalton Robinson and Russell M. Robinson II
- 2012 – Betty Ray McCain
- 2011 – David Price
- 2010 – Fred Chappell
- 2009 – Marsha White Warren
- 2008 – Walt Wolfram
- 2007 – Emily Herring Wilson
- 2006 – Benjamin Eagles Fountain, Jr.
- 2005 – Louis D. Rubin, Jr.
- 2004 – Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans
- 2003 – Wilma Dykeman and Hugh Morton
- 2002 – Reynolds Price
- 2001 – Houston Gwynne (H.G.) Jones
- 2000 – Thomas J. Lassiter, Jr.
- 1999 – William C. Friday
- 1998 – Dorothy Spruill Redford
- 1997 – Charles Bishop Kuralt
- 1996 – William W. Finlator
- 1995 – John Marsden Ehle
- 1994 – Anne Firor Scott
- 1993 – Samuel Talmadge Ragan
- 1992 – Doris Waugh Betts
- 1991 – John Hope Franklin
- 1990 – John Tyler Caldwell
