First Hume Society Distinguished Service Award
With pleasure and gratitude, the Hume Society announces the inaugural recipient of the Hume Society Distinguished Service Award, Dr. Wade L. Robison, the Ezra A. Hale Professor of Applied Ethics at the Rochester Institute of Technology. This award honors those whose service to the Society exemplifies visionary leadership, the outstanding developing of programming or resources with widespread scholarly impact, the dedicated and efficient stewardship of society endeavors, or the performance of other professional duties that goes well beyond ordinary expectations. Professor Robison has distinguished himself by all these standards.
Robison was a charter member of the Hume Society (founded in October 1974) and served on the Charter Committee. The charge of this committee included drafting laws for the Society, promoting the newly formed association, and organizing the next Hume Conference and program. Over fifty years later, Robison is still a generous and active member. We believe that he has only missed two of our fifty-one annual conferences.
Robison served on the Executive Committee of the Society from 1974 to 1976 and again from 1982 to 1997. For fourteen of those years, 1984–97, he was the Society’s President (or chair of the EC, as was the title his first year). As President, he established a strong organization and a firm financial footing for the Society. He writes in a special recollection for the 50th anniversary issue of Hume Studies (50:1, April 2025): “. . . when I became Chair of the Executive Committee, I was informed that we had $42 in our treasury, but no one knew where the money was, that the Society had 120 members, but no one had a list of them, and that we had nothing in place for conferences for the coming year.”
Most importantly for a learned society whose purpose is to stimulate scholarship on all aspects of the thought and writings of David Hume, Robison brought Hume Studies under the purview of the Hume Society. Hume Studies was started by John W. Davis at Western Ontario, a Hume Society member, who initiated the journal on his own. While it was loosely associated with the Society, the Society was not its publisher and had no control over it. Three members proposed another Hume journal, which they would edit under the auspices of the Society and publish with Edinburgh University Press—for a subscription rate of £75 a year. Robison and other members of the Executive Committee believed that any journal of the Hume Society must be affordable to members; so, they declined this proposal. Davis turned the journal over to two new editors in 1990, and it quickly ran out of funds. At that point, under Robison’s leadership, the Society was able to intervene and acquire oversight of the journal, appoint its own editors, and control subscription fees and access for members (see the narrative in Hume Studies 50:1). Without Hume Studies, the Hume Society would not be the vibrant, healthy organization it is today.
Robison has helped organize five of the Society’s annual conferences: the 1976 conference at the University of Wisconsin, the 1992 conference at the University of Nantes, the 2002 conference at the University of Helsinki, the 2008 conference at the University of Akureyri, and the 2012 conference at the University of Calgary. He composed the Society’s formidable “Handbook for Annual Conferences,” establishing standards for the collegial, robust, and delightful gatherings for which the Society is known. He has also served as a referee for both the conferences and Hume Studies for many years.
Generations of Hume scholars have benefitted from Professor Robison’s generosity and his indefatigable efforts on behalf of the Hume Society. He has supplied funds in support of member initiatives as well as the 50th annual Hume Society conference, and he is always eager to offer advice and support for young scholars as they develop their work and navigate their careers. He has always carried out his many commitments effectively, efficiently, and cheerfully. We cannot envision the Hume Society’s longevity and prosperity without Professor Robison’s influence, early oversight, and continued contributions. With this award, we express our gratitude for all.
Margaret A. Watkins
Hume Society President
Jason R. Fisette
Hume Society Executive Vice President-Treasurer
