The Princeton University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa will present its annual awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching to Michael Blaakman, associate professor of history, and James Vreeland, professor of politics and international affairs.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Monday, May 25.
The students outline the criteria for excellence in teaching as skill in instruction, commitment to working with and building relationships with undergraduates, and the ability to spark students’ intellectual interests. Each winner is presented with a plaque.
Michael Blaakman
Blaakman specializes in the history of Revolution-era and early national America. His first book, “Speculation Nation: Land Mania in the Revolutionary American Republic” (University of Pennsylvania Press), was published in 2023.
He joined Princeton’s faculty in 2018, and his courses in American history quickly became places where students discovered that “the Revolution is unfinished business,” said Luke Carroll, a senior history major. He lauded Blaakman’s “particular genius for making the 18th century feel urgent and central to America today.”
Blaakman has been a driving force in the University’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, including co-curating the exhibition “‘Nursery of Rebellion’: Princeton and the American Revolution,” on view through July 12 at Firestone Library. Students in his course “Revolution in the Archives,” which he taught in spring 2025 and spring 2026, contributed to the exhibition, conducting research on the University’s extensive collection of materials from the time of the country’s founding.
Carroll said that as a professor and adviser, Blaakman embodies the character traits the Founders themselves believed people needed to help the new republic survive. “They needed to be conscientious, caring, thorough, energetic and generous to one another,” he said. “Professor Blaakman is … exactly the kind of person the Founders were counting on.”
Blaakman earned his bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary and his Ph.D. from Yale University.
James Vreeland
Vreeland’s research interests include international political economy, with a focus on international institutions. His most recent book is “Information, Democracy, and Autocracy: Economic Transparency and Political (In)Stability,” co-authored with James R. Hollyer and B. Peter Rosendorff (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
He joined Princeton’s faculty in 2018. Students have routinely called Vreeland’s signature course, “International Organizations,” the “best class I’ve taken at Princeton.” One said, “This is one of the courses where you truly feel like this is what college is supposed to be like.”
Grace Coller, a senior politics major who took that course her first year, marveled at the way Vreeland connected with students and brought to life material ranging from international monetary policy to the diplomacy of the U.N. Security Council, and the dynamics between countries around international sporting events.
“In classes of upwards of 250 people, he gets to know names and other details about students, making a lecture hall feel like a seminar,” Coller said. She lauded his commitment to his students, including attending their athletic events and dance performances, and his dedication to advising.
“[A] good teacher leaves an enduring mark on students’ relationship with their subject matter, but a great teacher leaves an enduring mark on students’ relationship with the world,” Coller said. “I was lucky to be one of the hundreds of students who had Professor Vreeland and was able to experience this.”
Vreeland earned his bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College and his Ph.D. from New York University.
