Tammy M. Proctor
By Vanessa Richards, CHaSS Techincal Communications Assistant
Tammy M. Proctor, distinguished professor of history at Utah State University, is an inaugural recipient of the Hillcourt Silver Medal. This honor is awarded for outstanding service to the history of Scouting at the national and international levels.
The “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt Foundation recently established this award in anticipation of the 125th anniversary of legendary Scout leader William Hillcourt’s birth, which will occur in 2025. Hillcourt, who authored an important biography of Scouting’s founder Robert Baden-Powell, left a legacy after his death in the form of a major fund to promote the study of Scout history.
History Department Head Ravi Gupta said: “This award is a testament to Tammy’s internationally-recognized scholarship on the history of Scouting and her dedication to historical study. I am excited to see her scholarship being recognized in this way.”
In addition to writing and speaking extensively on World War I, gender and espionage as well as co-editing the Journal of British Studies, Proctor is a leading scholar on the history of Boy Scouting and Girl Guiding/Scouting.
Proctor has authored or edited several journal articles, chapters, and books on Scouting, including “Scouting for Girls: A Century of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts,” “Scouting Frontiers: Youth and the Scout Movement’s First Century,” and “On My Honour: Guides and Scouts in Interwar Britain.” She also co-organized a major symposium at Johns Hopkins University on the history of Scouting for the centennial in 2007-2008.
In recent years, she has received invitations to speak with media outlets about changes to the program and direction of Scout movements in many countries, which included being interviewed by The Atlantic in 2017.
Having been with USU since 2013, Proctor served as head of the History Department for eight years and is presently the interim director of the Heravi Peace Institute. She is also working with her sports history course to build a women’s sports archive with USU Libraries.
Maria Luisa Spicer-Escalante, a professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Utah State University, is a recipient of a Fulbright Specialist Program Award for 2024-2027.
After an intense day of competition, the Utah State University Speech & Debate Team won the College Public Forum League National Championship. The championship took place virtually on May 4 and featured the country’s best novice college debate programs.
