College Prizes

The following prizes are awarded to Seniors at graduation:

Fellows’ Prizes:

In 1957, the Fellows of the College decided to award prizes to Seniors for distinguished intellectual achievement above and beyond the call of academic duty, and to single out accomplishments of unusual enterprise and imagination in various fields of study that might remain unrecognized by the regular University awards for high scholarship. Two or three of these Fellows’ Prizes are awarded each year, and the names of the recipients are inscribed on the south wall of the Henning Common Room. A. Bartlett Giamatti, former President of the University, was awarded a Fellows’ Prize upon his graduation from Saybrook in 1960.

The Mary Casner Prize

The Mary Casner Prize was established by the Saybrook College Council in 1974 to honor the head-waitress of the Saybrook Dining Hall upon her retirement.  The Casner Prize has been awarded annually since 1975 to the student who has contributed the most to the life of the College. The names of the recipients are inscribed upon the west wall of the Henning Common Room.

The Head of College’s Prize

The Head of College’s Prize (originally Master’s Prize) was established in 1988 to indulge the Head of College’s whim and fancy. It may or may not be awarded for any reason…or for no reason whatsoever.  It is awarded “to that Senior whom the Master [sic] may wish to give a prize.”