The Friends of the Kreitzberg Library sponsor a $2,000 prize for creation of an innovative lesson plan that furthers our students’ primary source literacy skills and encourages creative, faculty-generated use of the unique resources found in the Norwich University Archives.

Begun in 2017, this prize was formerly known as the Costas L. Caraganis Prize for Teaching with the University Archives and was funded from 2017 to 2022 by a generous gift made to the Kreitzberg Library by Costas Caraganis, a brigadier general who served in in the U.S. Army in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Primary source literacy builds transferable skills that benefit students across disciplines. These may include the interpretation and analysis of primary sources, the ability to apply effective research skills across multiple disciplines, the ethical use of primary sources, the legal and social implications of records, the cultivation of historical empathy, the contextualization of documents into broader historical frameworks, and the arousal of curiosity about and appreciation of the past.

Another beneficial outcome will be knowledge sharing. The winning lesson plan will be shared on the library website as an example for other faculty to use in the future. The faculty member with the winning proposal will be expected to prepare a presentation for their colleagues that shares their experience working in the Archives.

All faculty are invited to apply individually, in pairs, or on behalf of a group. One prize is to be awarded each year.

Please note that class sessions using unique primary sources from the University Archives should be scheduled in the Archives Instruction Room on the 5th floor of the Kreitzberg Library.