1987 Metcalf Cup & Prize

Warren O. Ault, CLA

For fifty-two years -- full-time from 1913 until 1957 and part-time until 1965 -- Professor Warren Ault was the avatar of teaching excellence at Boston University. But his career is best measured not in years but the fourteen generations of Boston University students who were enriched by his learning and his wit. Many of them have in turn become outstanding teachers and scholars, continuing his tradition both at Boston University and throughout the country.

In recent months tributes have poured in from his former students. A member of the class of 1921 wrote that "dedication, method, urbanity, cheerfulness, humor, judgment -- all the facets of a distinguished mind and character illuminated [Professor Ault's] expositions of historical eras." Another, who studied with him in 1943, wrote of "that special magic that occurs when the professor and his subject meld into an unforgettable educational experience." Yet another says, "I have always considered that I went to Boston University, and majored in Professor Ault."

Indeed, the Metcalf Cup and Prize and the Metcalf Awards were established precisely to recognize and celebrate the standards of excellence in teaching maintained by Professor Warren Ault for over half a century. Today, shortly after the one-hundredth anniversary of his birth, it is entirely fitting that we honor him with the Metcalf Cup and Prize for excellence in teaching. One of his students, speaking for all, said it best: "We loved you then, and we love and revere you now."