CARTER'S NOBEL PRIZE ELATES ANTIOCH PROFESSOR

Abrams sought the honor since 1991

By Derek Ali
Dayton Daily News
October 12, 2002

YELLOW SPRINGS — Irwin Abrams deserved some consideration if his voice seemed a little hoarse on Friday night.

He spent much of the day giving interviews about former President Jimmy Carter winning the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. There was an interview for the The World, which aired at 7 p.m. on WYSO; a taping at WDTN for CNN International; one for CBC in Canada, and one for a station in Philadelphia.

For Abrams, an internationally recognized authority on the Nobel Peace Prize and professor emeritus at Antioch University, Carter’s award was the sweet end to almost a dozen years of nominations.

"I’ve been nominating Carter every year since ‘91 and this has finally come to pass," said Abrams, who has written two books on the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since he left office, Carter has done more than any other former president in the field of human rights, Abrams said.

Carter also has championed international hunger and health issues, said Abrams, who noted that he was one of 156 nominators to help Carter win the award, which comes with a cash prize of $1 million.

Abrams, 88, who established the history department at Antioch, is a Quaker and served on the nominating committee of the American Friends Service Committee, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947.

In addition, university professors of history, philosophy and international law are eligible to nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize, as are members of government and previous Peace Prize winners. The prize first given in 1901, comes from a bequest by Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.