The Philip Roth Society, an organization dedicated to the study and appreciation of author Philip Roth, recently established the George J. Searles Award in recognition of the scholarship and contributions of longtime Mohawk Valley Community College Humanities Professor Dr. George J. Searles.
The inaugural Searles Award was presented to Madeline Lewis, a graduate student at Central Connecticut State University, for her paper “Roth as War Writer.” Lewis delivered the award-winning presentation at a literary conference co-sponsored by the Philip Roth Society and the John Updike Society, held in New York on Oct. 22, 2025.
Searles is a recognized authority on Roth and Updike, having published the first book-length study of the pair in 1985, followed by a collection of Roth interviews in 1992, along with many essays and reviews about both writers, who rank among the most important American novelists of the late 20th century.
Searles, of Clinton, is an advisory editor of the Roth Society’s academic journal, based at Purdue University. He has taught at MVCC since 1976, and has won many awards throughout his career, including the prestigious SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professorship in 2021.
For more information on MVCC and its programs, visit www.mvcc.edu.
