The Humanities Exemplary Faculty Award is given by the College of Humanities annually to a tenured faculty member in recognition of his or her distinguished and sustained achievements in the areas of teaching, research, and service. The purpose of this award is to honor those individuals who, over a period of years, have developed a noteworthy academic profile, with exceptional strength in research and/or teaching, and who therein serve as role models for students and younger colleagues. The award includes a $2000 grant and one quarter of release time for professional development.

Professor Frank Coulson is internationally known for his recovery of numerous manuscripts in European and American libraries. They have allowed him to trace the reception of Ovid from the 12th to the 16th centuries. His books include The Vulgate Commentary on Ovid's Metamorphoses (Toronto 1991) and (co-authored with Bruno Roy) Incipitarium Ovidianum: A Finding Guide for Texts in Latin Related to the Study of Ovid in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Turnhout 2000).

The nominating letters for Frank for this Award were understandably effusive. As one nominator put it, "There is not much contemporary research in humanities that will survive and have an impact on the world 100 years hence; but Professor Coulson’s work will, and it will be used as long as there are students of classical and medieval literature." Frank’s reputation as a teacher, adviser, and mentor is equally stellar. Besides the high praise of his students in their course evaluations, he has been nominated twice for the University’s Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching and received this prestigious award in 2002. The conclusion of one nominator provides a good summary of why Frank was selected as this year’s Humanities Exemplary Faculty member: "As a marvelous scholar with an enviable international reputation, as an exemplary teacher and colleague, Frank Coulson is one of the 'jewels in the crown' of OSU's College of Humanities."

Congratulations, Frank!