BriggmanAssistant Professor of the History of Early Christianity Anthony Briggman has won a 2016 Crystal Apple Award. Sponsored by Emory University’s Residence Hall Association and selected by students in nine categories, Crystal Apple awards honor faculty who go above and beyond their search for knowledge and involvement in the Emory community.

Briggman, who also teaches in Emory’s Graduate Division of Religion and Department of Religion, received the award for Excellence in Graduate Education/Instruction. The award criteria range from accessibility and positive relationships with students to mastery of subject matter and engaging presence in the classroom.

“The field of historical theology often presents multiple roadblocks to understanding its subject matter,” wrote one of Briggman’s student nominators. “But Dr. Briggman effectively carries this material to his students through a combination of humor, stories, drawings, pop culture references, and dialogue. The result for me has been an increased understanding of the field and an increased love of learning.”

Another wrote, “Dr. Briggman demonstrates excellence and creativity in his teaching skills in a wide variety of settings, whether in the Graduate Division of Religion, at Candler School of Theology, or while preaching at Cannon Chapel. His teaching and mentorship combine vulnerability and wit, in a quest for truth where he kindly reminds students that excellence matters, not perfection.”

“Each of the courses I have taken with Dr. Briggman has been extremely challenging and pushed me to develop both my knowledge of the subject matter and my skills at historical and conceptual analysis,” wrote a third nominator. “He has gone above and beyond what is expected of him to help doctoral students develop into accomplished scholars.”

A ceremony honoring this year’s Crystal Apple Award winners will be held on Monday, February 29 at the Miller-Ward Alumni House.

Top photo: Briggman (standing) and his class on a field trip to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia.