The Benjamin F. Barge Prize for Oratory was established by Benjamin F. Barge (1832-1902) in 1901 and continued until 2004. After a six-year hiatus, the Institute for Writing & Rhetoric re-launched the Benjamin F. Barge Prize for Oratory in Spring 2010. The award is presented to a member of the senior class who is determined by a panel of three judges to "write and pronounce in public an English oration in the best manner." Judges are instructed to consider content and delivery equally when determining the winner of the contest. One senior student is named the winner and receives a medal and a cash award.
These prizes were established in 1905 by Waldemer Otis and Dr. James A. Spaulding, both members of the Class of 1866, and continued until 2004. There are two prizes, one to a senior and one to a first-year student, to be awarded "for excellence in original orations." Winners receive a cash award. The Institute re-launched the Class of 1866 Prizes for Oratory by awarding them in the May 19, 2011 speech contest.
Newly established in 2020, this prize will be awarded to one junior and one sophomore student. Winners will receive a cash award.