Art history's Elina Gertsman receives highest teaching award in the field of art history
Elina Gertsman, Distinguished University Professor of medieval art and the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, recently received the highest teaching award in the field of art history: the 2026 Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award from the College Art Association (CAA).
Recipients are evaluated on several criteria, such as their:
- Inspiration to a broad range of students who pursue humanities studies;
- Rigorous intellectual standards and outstanding success in scholarly and class presentation;
- Contributions to the advancement of knowledge and methodology in the discipline, including integration of art-historical knowledge with other disciplines; and,
- Help with students in the development of their careers.
Graduate students at Case Western Reserve University’s College of Arts and Sciences nominated Gertsman for this award. She has previously received the national Award for Excellence in Teaching Medieval Studies from the Medieval Academy of America. At CWRU, she has also been a recipient of John S. Diekhoff Awards in teaching and mentoring and the Jessica Melton Perry Award for Distinguished Teaching of Disciplinary Writing.
Gertsman also received the CAA's Charles Rufus Morey Book Award, which honors an especially distinguished book in the history of art published in English.
