Berkeley Carroll is proud to congratulate Upper School history teacher Dr. Madeline Lafuse on receiving the 2025 President’s Memorial Award from the Louisiana Historical Association. The award is given annually to the author of the best article published in the academic journal Louisiana History.

Dr. Lafuse earned the honor for her article, “Charles Gayarré, American Slaveowner: The Politics of Slavery and White Supremacy in Gayarré’s Life and Work.” Her research reexamines the legacy of Charles Gayarré, a major 19th-century Louisiana historian and politician, arguing that his historical writing was deeply shaped by the national politics of slavery and white supremacy, rather than solely by local interests, as previously believed.

“It’s a pretty niche topic,” Dr. Lafuse noted, “but I had a lot of fun researching it,” including time spent in the archives at Louisiana State University, where she uncovered primary source materials that other historians had assumed did not exist.

While her research is rooted in a specific historical moment, its impact reaches directly into her classroom. For Dr. Lafuse, the most important lesson for students is not just what history says, but how it is discovered. “You can still say new things if you just go and look,” she explained. “That’s something I really try to instill in my students, that they can be the experts.”

Through her teaching, Dr. Lafuse encourages students to pursue original research with curiosity and determination. When guiding our Senior Scholars or supporting younger historians, she emphasizes the value of persistence and independence. “Nobody’s going to give that to you,” she said. “You have to be self-motivated… and very resilient.”

Her approach reflects Berkeley Carroll’s commitment to fostering inquiry, critical thinking, and intellectual ownership. As Dr. Lafuse puts it, there is a unique sense of pride in doing the work firsthand: “You earned that right to stand up and say, ‘I know every detail about this.’”

Congratulations to Dr. Lafuse on this well-deserved recognition, and for continuing to inspire students to dig deeper, ask questions, and discover something new.