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June 3, 2004

UMBC Historian Awarded Top Honor in Field

Warren I. Cohen, distinguished university professor of history at UMBC, has been awarded one of the top honors given to American historians--the Norman and Laura Graebner Prize of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. Cohen is the ninth person to ever win the award.

Given every two years, the Graebner Prize is a career achievement honor that recognizes a senior historian of U.S. foreign relations who has made significant contributions to the field through excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. The award was established by the former students of Norman A. Graebner, professor of diplomatic history at the University of Illinois and the University of Virginia, to honor Graebner and his wife Laura for their years of devotion to teaching and research.

Cohen is one of the world's leading experts on the history of American-East Asian relations. He has been a pioneer in the study of U.S.-Chinese relations as a bilateral phenomenon, examining closely the Chinese side of the relationship. He has also been a keen observer and, at times, harsh critic of evolving American policy on the Korean Peninsula.

A prolific writer, Cohen is author or editor of some 17 books, including the recently published fourth edition (revised) of his book, America's Response to China, which continues to be a standard text on the history of Chinese-American relations, used by officials of the U.S. and Chinese governments, as well as by students and scholars of both countries.

He was general editor of the authoritative Cambridge History of American Foreign Policy, and author of the concluding book in the series, America in the Age of Soviet Power, 1945-1991.

Most recently, the Harvard University Press published his book, The Asian American Century, which has already been published in Japanese and Italian versions. In addition to his scholarly publications, Cohen writes for the Atlantic Monthly, Times Literary Supplement, and the Nation, as well as many of the nation's leading newspapers.

"Professor Cohen is quite accurately described by his peers as a towering figure among historians of American foreign relations," says John Jeffries, professor and chair of history at UMBC. "The recipient of numerous prizes and awards, he is one of the most distinguished and accomplished historians in the United States, and he is a superb teacher as well. We are delighted to have a scholar of his stature on our faculty."

Cohen came to UMBC in 1993 as distinguished university professor of history. He was named a presidential research professor at UMBC for 2001 through 2004.

In 1994, he was appointed the first scholar-in-residence at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center at the U.S. State Department. Shortly thereafter he served a term as director and is now senior scholar in the Asia Program at the Smithsonian's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Cohen holds a BA from Columbia University, a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

Posted by dwinds1 at June 3, 2004 12:00 AM