Through our honors and prizes, The Flag Research Center recognizes scholarly and professional achievements in the field of vexillology.
For an outstanding contribution to the advancement of vexillology, and only when there are worthy recipients, the Center’s directors elect Whitney Smith Fellows. Fellows receive a badge embodying Dr. Smith’s personal flag suspended on a cord and a certificate. Living fellows are:
- Graham M.P. Bartram
- Bruce B. Berry
- Michel R. Lupant
- Charles A. Spain
Former fellows are Whitney Smith Ph.D. (1940-2016); Grace Rogers Cooper (1924-2004); Scot M. Guenter Ph.D. (1956-2026); and John M. Purcell Ph.D. (1932-2012).
The Gherardi Davis Prize is presented for a significant contribution to vexillological research. As Dr. Smith observed, Davis possessed the scholarly qualities all vexillologists should aspire to: a “healthy scepticism[,] precision of statement, and [a] desire constantly to improve on his own material[.]” Whitney Smith, An Introduction to Gherardi Davis, 16 Flag Bulletin 3 (1977).
The prize consists of an honorarium and a pewter Jefferson bowl and is accompanied by a certificate. The prize has been awarded to:
- Jeroen ter Brugge, The Netherlands, for the work “Flagbooks (17th-19th Century): Their Appearance, Use, and Purposes,” presented at the 31st International Congress of Vexillology (2026). (forthcoming in the Congress Proceedings)
- Anne Wagner, Sarah Marusek, and the other authors, for the monograph Flags, Color, and the Legal Narrative: Public Memory, Identity, and Critique (Springer 2021). (Publisher’s website)
- Nicholas Mignanelli and Sarah C. Slinger for the article A Matter for Interpretation: An Inquiry into Confederate Symbolism and the Florida State Flag, 10 U. Mia. Race & Soc. Just. L. Rev. 115 (2020). (Download from repository)
- Bruce B. Berry, FF, South Africa, for the work “Flying High—The Zimbabwe Bird on the Flags of Zimbabwe,” presented at HemisFlag: The 28th International Congress of Vexillology (2019). (forthcoming in the Congress Proceedings)