Members of the Illinois State Historical Society gathered in Springfield on April 23 at the Old State Capitol to to recognize this year’s Annual Award recipients.

As co-chair of the Awards Committee, Dr. Chris McDonald, professor, political science, announced and handed out awards, one of which he earned! Dr. McDonald received a Certificate of Excellence for the scholarly book: “‘Three Lying or Four Sitting’ from the Front in a Ford: The WWI Letters of Kent Dunlap Hagler”
Remarks on the book stated, “A great addition to Illinois’s role in WWI. These letters are astonishing in their detail, colorfully written, and hard to put down. What I marvel at is the maturity of Hagler’s writing, the absence of his own narrative in deference to the random horrors and absurdities surrounding him, and the clarity of his memory amidst the hurly-burly of war.”

Also, at the ISHS meeting following the awards luncheon, Dr. McDonald gave a presentation about plans for LLCC to host the 2017 Illinois History Symposium in April.