The K. Austin Kerr Prize is awarded for the best first paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Business History Conference by a new scholar (doctoral student or those within three years of receiving their Ph.D.). It honors K. Austin Kerr, professor of history at the Ohio State University since 1965 and president of the Business History Conference during 1992-1993. Author of many books and articles in business history, and a founder of H-Business, Professor Kerr has always encouraged excellence in scholarship and in professional and classroom presentations. Criteria for awarding the prize include scholarly excellence; innovation in subject, method, or findings; and effectiveness of presentation. Presentations at the Krooss Dissertation Prize sessions are not eligible for the Kerr Prize. Persons who have also presented in the Krooss Prize sessions at previous BHC annual meetings are eligible for the Kerr Prize as long as they are graduate students or within three years of receiving their Ph.D. The Kerr Prize Committee is to consist of four members, one of whom will serve as chair. Each member serves a three-year term, rotating onto the committee as junior member, then becoming chair (or co-chair), and then exiting after serving a final year as senior member. Potential awardees will be asked to designate themselves as such and to submit their paper in advance of the meeting, by a specified date. The Kerr Prize Committee will evaluate the papers in advance, selecting up to 15 finalists whose presentations they will attend during the annual meeting. The Committee will meet prior to the awards ceremony to make a decision that will be announced by the Committee chair at the ceremony.
The Kerr Prize was not awarded in 2020 due to the extraordinary circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
