Alexander Gerschenkron was a man of many talents, and eclectic interests. He was one of our profession's most venerable scholars, but also, as the statistics on graduate education published in the most recent Clio Society newsletter attest, one of our profession's most venerable educators as well. What more fitting combination could there be in the named honoree for a dissertation prize, an academic exercise that serves as both the introduction to one's scholarly career in research, as well as the culmination of one's formal education. I hope that for the three nominees for this prize brought together today, this occasion marks as much a beginning in our profession as it does closure of their graduate educations.