The George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award is given annually to a UVM faculty member nominated by alumni, students, faculty, and staff for significant contributions to the broadening of students' academic experience and the enrichment of campus life.

This year's recipient, Professor Richard Sugarman, has been at the University of Vermont since 1970. His fields are phenomenology, philosophy of religion, and Jewish philosophy, and he has directed and taught in the Integrated Humanities Program.

One student expressing her support for Professor Sugarman's nomination for the Kidder Award wrote that he was by far the most approachable professor she had encountered at UVM. She was not a religion or philosophy major, she said, but took numerous classes from him because he was such a captivating teacher.

A faculty colleague wrote in support of Professor Sugarman's nomination, "He is a whole program, a whole liberal arts education. He is the 'Sugarman experience.'" No one in the department receives higher ratings from students, and among his peers he excels as a lecturer, bringing humor into the classroom.

Another colleague wrote, "A brilliant intellect, he is also an inspiring teacher and has been the soul of the Integrated Humanities Program for many years." A student wrote that Professor Sugarman's introduction to the study of religion made "the relentless pursuit of this discipline necessary and imperative for me. His influence on me intellectually is unmatched."

One of the continuous stream of students stopping by to see him daily wrote that the mark of a truly great teacher is sacrificing himself and his time to understand his students.