Joan Nicoll Riedl Book Award
The Joan Nicoll Riedl Book Award supports a rising major in Religious Studies. The award is supported by the Joan Nicoll Riedl Endowment which honors Joan N. Riedl who was a secretary in the Department from 1976-2010. The fund to support this award was launched in 2010.
Biography
Joan Riedl (1928-2025) began working as a part-time secretary for the Department of Religious Studies in 1976 and became full-time in 1980 before retiring in 2010. She endeared herself to the faculty through her loyalty, devotion, good cheer, sense of humor, and “eagle editing eye.” Students loved her smiling welcome and helpful demeanor as they entered the department office. Joan balanced graciously her Scottish roots, Austrian connections, and love of East Tennessee through her various travels and activities. She was also known to many as a Lady Vols supporter of the first order! This book award celebrates and commemorates two principal aspects of Joan’s life that we shall always treasure: her commitment to serving UT students and her passion for reading.
Joan Nicoll Riedl was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 22, 1928. While attending Grinnell College in Iowa, Joan decided to pursue her interest in the German language, obtaining a degree in German Literature in 1950. Upon completion of her Master’s degree at the University of Illinois in 1951, she received a Fulbright scholarship to study in Austria. In 1952, while studying at the University of Vienna, Joan met her future husband, Norbert Riedl. The couple married in Vienna in 1955 and eventually moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where Norbert worked for the Educational Testing Service (ETS). In 1962, Norbert accepted a position in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, and the couple moved to Knoxville, Tennessee with their three young children. The family put down roots in Knoxville, where two more children were born. Joan Riedl passed away August 1, 2025.
By contributing to the Joan Nicoll Riedl Endowment you will both honor the thirty-four years of service of this highly respected UT staff member and help support a rising senior in Religious Studies purchase those all-important textbooks.
Recipients of the Joan Nicoll Riedl Book Award
- 2022 – Daniel Dassow and Abby Ramsy
- 2021 – Charles Evans and Elizabeth Plant
- 2020 – Ashley Cornell and Shannon Dugger
- 2019 – Andrew Swann
- 2018 – Meghan Tiller
- 2017- Abigail Brennon
- 2016 – Landry Austin
- 2015 – Robert Cremins
- 2014 – Justin Lawrence
- 2013 – Blaire Hamilton
- 2012 – Jeremy Russell
- 2011 – David Burman
SUPPORTING THE BOOK AWARD
By contributing to the Joan Nicoll Riedl Book Award you will both honor the thirty-four years of service of this highly respected UT staff member and help support a rising senior in Religious Studies purchase those all-important textbooks. If you are interested in making a contribution to the Riedl Fund, you can make an online contribution here or send a check payable to the University of Tennessee Department of Religious Studies. Please indicate that the check is for the Riedl Award and mail it to the address below:
University of Tennessee
Department of Religious Studies
501 McClung Tower
Knoxville, TN 37996-0450