Two Women Historians to Be Awarded the Bancroft Prize

Mia Bay of the University of Pennsylvania and Mae Ngai of Columbia University will be awarded the Bancroft Prize from Columbia University for their historical scholarship at a ceremony to be held in New York City in late April. Under the terms of the will of the late Fredric Bancroft, provision is made for two annual prizes of equal rank to be awarded to the authors of distinguished works in either or both of the following categories: American history (including biography) and diplomacy. The prize has been awarded since 1948.

Mia Bay is the Roy F. and Jeanette P. Nichols Professor of American History at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a scholar of American and African American intellectual, cultural, and social history. Professor Bay was honored for her book Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance (Belknap Press, 2021). Dr. Bay is a graduate of the University of Toronto. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. at Yale University.

Mae Ngai is the Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies and professor of history at Columbia University. She was honored for her book The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics (W.W. Norton, 2021). Dr. Ngai is a graduate of Empire State College of the State University of New York System. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.