Frankfurter wins annual Lindberg Award

By Erika Mantz, Media Relations

David Frankfurter, professor of history and religious studies at UNH for almost 10 years, has been awarded the annual Lindberg Award for his achievements as both an outstanding scholar and teacher in the College of Liberal Arts.

Following tradition, last year’s recipient of the Lindberg Award, Sally Ward, professor of sociology at UNH for more than 20 years, will present her address later this spring.

“Professor Frankfurter is a world-class scholar who has distinguished himself as a teacher and as a citizen of the university,”says J. William Harris, chair of the History Department. “He exemplifies the ideals that the Lindberg Award is designed to promote.”

The annual Lindberg Award was established by the College of Liberal Arts in 1986 in memory of Professor Gary Lindberg of the Department of English. Professor Lindberg was an exceptional scholar and outstanding teacher whose dedication and service to UNH as well as the wider community exemplified the highest academic standards and ideals.

In his nomination of Frankfurter for the award, Harris said based on information recently collected for a review of the department, “I can state with confidence that Frankfurter’s record of publication is probably the strongest in the department over the past 10 years.”

Since receiving his PhD in 1990 Frankfurter has published two books, one edited volume, more than 20 articles and book chapters, and more than 20 book reviews. A third book on “images of evil” is currently under contract with Princeton University Press.

In addition to his scholarship, Frankfurter is known for his enthusiasm as a teacher and his commitment to engaging students during class. One student described him as “entirely dedicated, not only to the material that he himself researches and writes about, but also to the education of students at UNH.”

In announcing Frankfurter as the recipient of this year’s award, Marilyn Hoskin, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, noted his enormous range of scholarly ability while revitalizing studies in religion at UNH and called him “a master academic sleuth, working at a pace almost unknown in his field.

“This pace is all the more compelling given the broad range of his work — over centuries of history, over the entire spectrum of religious experience, over a number of methodologies used in this area of study,” Hoskin added.

Colleague Jan Golinski, professor of history and humanities, notes that Frankfurter “has gone well beyond the norm in public outreach, representing the very best of the university and its faculty to the wider world.”

In his frequent media appearances and public speaking engagements, Frankfurter “conveys the importance of a sensitive and tolerant approach to diverse religious traditions in the modern world.”