Bevingtons’ gift to UCP for emerging scholars
As a University of Chicago professor and peer reviewer, David Bevington has helped launch the careers of countless scholars in the humanities. On the eve of his retirement, David and his wife Peggy are extending this commitment even further with a $100,000 gift to the University of Chicago Press to help publish works from emerging scholars.
David, the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Department of English, retired this year after teaching at the University for 38 years. He is a world renowned authority on English drama and literature from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and has edited numerous editions of Shakespeare’s works. A warm and inspiring teacher, Bevington received the Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate teaching in 1979.
Peggy also devoted her career to the University of Chicago community. An expert in early childhood education, she retired in 2003 after nearly three decades of teaching nursery school at the Laboratory Schools.
As longtime friends of the Press, the Bevingtons see their gift as an extension of their ongoing involvement with and enthusiasm for Chicago’s academic publisher. David has been a driving force in building the Press’s reputation as a scholarly leader in early modern studies. "The excellence of Chicago’s list in Shakespeare studies over the past twenty years is due in no small measure to the important role played by David Bevington," said Paula Duffy, Director of the Press. "He has been the ideal reviewer for numerous manuscripts published by the Press—always thoughtful, critical, and deeply supportive when he recognizes strong scholarship and novel, significant ideas."
Read the press release.