1992 Metcalf Cup & Prize

William Vance, CLA

William Vance, who has taught English and American literature at Boston University for thirty years, is a distinguished scholar whose monumental study America's Rome won both the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize of Phi Beta Kappa and the Association of American Publishers Prize for the best book in the arts, literature, and language category.

His classroom style is at once understated and demanding. In an age when fewer students have patience for massive works such as Moby Dick and The Portrait of a Lady, Professor Vance does not respond by substituting shorter, lesser works. As he puts it, "I try harder to help the students make the voyage through the masterpieces."

One of his former doctoral students says that she chose to work with Professor Vance "because I had never before met an academic who brought out the best in me as much as he; he is a perfectionist, expecting nothing by the best work a student can do. " Another student characterizes him as "a gentle yet intellectually rigorous and receptive teacher who develops the demand in a student for creative, intelligent work."

Professor Vance has a decisive effect upon the intellectual lives of his students, many of whom continue to consult with him decades after graduating.

One former student eloquently shows why William Vance has been awarded the Metcalf Cup and Prize: "I admire him as a teacher and admire him as a man. Quantifying the latter feeling is a difficult task -- rather, I have memories of extra words of encouragement to a shy student, careful attention to another's argument, a tactful silence. He is brilliant and knows everything there is to know about his field; he is also deeply courteous, with faculties attuned to others. These qualities deepen the impact of his words...they make him a model for others."