Maureen Sullivan Wenz Memorial Award

The Maureen Sullivan Wenz Memorial Award is given for outstanding work and service in Political Science by a Bronx major.

Maureen Sullivan Wenz was a political science major at Hunter-in-the-Bronx (later Lehman College) in the early 1960s. Professor Wenz went on to teach in the Bronx before her early death in 1963. The award was established soon after to commemorate her intellectual promise and commitment to public service. First given in 1964, the award has since been presented to outstanding political science majors whose achievements and service reflect the values she embodied.

Honorees

Hazel Acquaah '26
Riana Richards '25
Elder Madrid Serrano '24
Kahdija Jabbi '24

Edgar Dawson Prize on Political and Legal Theory

The Edgar Dawson Prize on Political and Legal Theory is awarded to outstanding seniors for excellence in political thought and the study of law.

Edgar Dawson was a professor of government at Hunter-in-the-Bronx, which later became Lehman College, from 1909 to 1939. A national leader in civic and social-studies education, he wrote influential works on representative government, civil-service reform, and the teaching of the Constitution. He helped found the National Council for the Social Studies and served as its first secretary from 1921 to 1928. The prize honors his belief that rigorous political thought should be joined to a clear understanding of public law and democratic institutions.

Honorees

Giancarlo Silva '26
Rumairy Pena '25
Isabelle Greene '24

Patrick V. Peppe Award

The Patrick V. Peppe Award is given to outstanding seniors who combine academic excellence with service to their community.

Pat Peppe joined the political science department at Lehman in 1970 and taught there for twenty years. Blind from age fifteen as a result of Marfan syndrome, he graduated from the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind and Harvard College. His scholarship examined labor and political struggle in Latin America, especially Chile. He is remembered for his intellectual range, creativity, and determination to live fully; this award honors that combination of scholarship and service.

Honorees

Noemi Martinez '26
Jose Aguilar '24

Young Kun Kim–William Bosworth Memorial Award

The Young Kun Kim–William Bosworth Memorial Award is given to outstanding seniors in the field of political science.

Professor Young Kun Kim spent half a century, from 1967 to 2017, in Lehman’s political science department. A political theorist, he had grown up in Korea during Japanese occupation and the Korean War. At Lehman, he specialized in comparative political thought and in the Korean peninsula and China. He taught at the CUNY Graduate Center for forty-five years. His courses in political thought shaped four generations of students.

Professor William Bosworth taught political science at the Lehman College from 1960 until his retirement in 1999. A comparative politics scholar and Chair of Political Science for many years, he founded and directed the Bronx Data Center, a public resource that uses U.S. Census data to map demographic change and social conditions in the Bronx. Alumni remember him for his patience, care, and intellectual rigor, especially in long-running courses on American government and constitutional law.

Honorees

Melanie Munoz '26
Zach Raghunath '25
Declan O'Boy '24

Honors in Political Science

Students with a major GPA of 3.5 or higher and a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher may, with instructor permission, take POL 481, an advanced seminar in political science. Completing POL 481 and meeting the above GPA requirements means that the student graduates with Honors in Political Science.

Honorees

Hazel Acquaah '26
Noemi Martinez '26
Melanie Munoz '26

Serina Kennebrew '25
Riana Richards '25
Hilary Santos '25

Joseph Clapp '24
Elder Madrid Serrano '24
Isabelle Greene '24
Declan O'Boy '24

Pi Sigma Alpha (ΠΣΑ)

ΠΣΑ, or Pi Sigma Alpha, is the national honor society for political science. Political Science majors or minors with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher are invited to join the honor society upon completion of their senior year.