2020 Roy E. Larsen Award Goes to Nicholas Ealy

Professor of English and Modern Languages Nicholas Ealy (A&S) is the 2020 recipient of the Roy E. Larsen Award that honors a full-time University professor for excellence in teaching and contributions to University life. Ealy joined the University in 2007. He is trained as a scholar of comparative literature, speaks (in addition to English) French and Spanish, teaches across a breadth of disciplines, is Director of the Humanities Center, and is highly respected and recommended by students.

Ealy is establishing an international reputation in the fields of comparative literature and medieval French literature having published the peer-reviewed monograph Narcissism and Selfhood in Medieval French Literature: Wounds of Desire. He is co-editor of a book series “Reading Trauma and Memory” for Lexington Press. Four books in the series have been published and five manuscripts are in review or contract.

Ealy has taught over 30 different classes at all levels from first-semester intro classes and first-year seminars to advanced classes in upper-level French seminars, Honors seminars, and capstone courses. He infuses his classes with thoughtfully crafted critical thinking exercises, spends time helping students understand critical thinking, and helping them learn how and when to apply it. He receives consistently positive feedback from students about his teaching and his student evaluations always range 4.5 to 5 out of 5.

Here is an excerpt from one student’s evaluation: “This course opened my eyes to an aspect of literature that not only relates to writing, but to life itself. It has taught me how to better myself in critical thinking and I believe it has set me up for other higher education courses very well.”

Ealy’s influence goes far beyond classroom learning to make a broad impact on the campus intellectual community. He is a strong contributor to University Interdisciplinary Studies (UIS), serving on its curriculum committee as well as having served on the committee that evaluated the 30-year old program and revised it to meet future challenges. He consistently creates new courses that capture student imaginations such as HBO’s Girls and the Millennial Journey, Literature and Psychology, or Literature and Criminal Justice. As director of the Humanities Center, Ealy organizes annual seminars with honors students on current topics and works with selected instructors to presents a lecture series of faculty and invited guests that enhances the reputation of the University. He also has chaired the curriculum committee in A&S and served on multiple search committees where he focuses on challenges and strategies that can attract and consider a diverse pool of applicants. He is a strong voice for how to improve retention of faculty and students from under-represented groups.

Assistant Provost and Dean of Faculty Development T. Stores says of Ealy, “In all aspects of University of Hartford life, from the individual student to departmental duties, college committee membership and leadership, and service to the institution, Nicholas Ealy is a pivotal member of our community.”

Ealy earned a PhD in Comparative Literature at Emory University, two Masters Degrees in French and Spanish Literature at Florida State University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Languages at Stetson University.