Sidney Prizes recognize exceptional academic work across a range of subjects. Undergraduate students often receive the prize for writing that meets its criteria in terms of quality and merit – this may include essays, poems or plays written to compete for this prestigious award, which dates back to bequests received early 20th century bequests.
Sidney Prize winners have gone on to become prominent writers across the United States and internationally, appearing frequently in major publications like the New York Times or other top publications. Furthermore, some have written books or works of fiction as well as been elected into public office.
Recently, numerous Sidney prize winners have also appeared on popular television shows and films. Many of these authors were praised for their exceptional writing that communicates complex ideas to an average reader easily.
The Sidney Prize for Undergraduate Paper in Art History was established to commemorate Professor Sidney Thomas (1915-2009). Thomas, an esteemed scholar in his field of art history, wrote or edited two landmark works: The Nature of Art with John Gassner in 1964 and Images of Man: Selected Readings in Arts and Ideas from Western Civilization with Kimberley Ferdinando in 1972.
David Brooks of The New York Times regularly showcases a list of Sidney prizes as part of his review of journalism from around the year. Brooks has featured articles written by Hilton Als and Ed Yong for The Atlantic as Sidney winners; in 2015’s long form journalism review he featured Peter Wood’s Weekly Standard cover story about hookup culture as one of them with its “deeply thought-provoking essay.”
Sidney prize winners have also contributed significantly to science. Chemist Sidney Altman received the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery that ribonuclease-P could be broken apart into its components of RNA and enzyme, disproving an established dogma that molecules could either carry information like RNA or catalyze chemical reactions like proteins; only one could serve this dual role simultaneously.
The Sidney Hillman Foundation is a left-leaning organization that awards monetary prizes for journalism and public service. Established in 1946 in honor of Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America labor union president Sidney Hillman (later amalgamated into SEIU), its board includes leaders of both organizations as well as left-leaning celebrities like Danny Glover and actor/director Ben Affleck; sometimes controversy has surfaced surrounding its leadership structure and leadership structure.