UNM ENGLISH PROFESSOR RECEIVES FIFTH FULBRIGHT

April 8, 2003

UNM ENGLISH PROFESSOR RECEIVES FIFTH FULBRIGHT

Gary Scharnhorst, professor of English, was recently notified that he is the recipient of his fifth Fulbright to study and teach in Germany next spring.

"I would certainly be amazed if anyone has received more prestigious Fulbright awards than Professor Scharnhorst," said Ken Carpenter, study abroad advisor in UNM's International Programs and Studies.

Scharnhorst will teach at the University of Heidelberg in an exchange with Dieter Schulz who will come to UNM to teach. Both are professors of American literature. This is Scharnhorst's third time at the German institution and Schulz, who taught at Yale University, has come to New Mexico many times over the last 30 years, Scharnhorst said.

"I will be teaching English majors. It is to the students' advantage that they study under native idiomatic English speakers," said Scharnhorst.

Scharnhorst, who made his first Fulbright trip to Stuttgart, Germany, in 1978-'79, looks forward to the opportunity to reconnect with friends from "Prague to Paris," lecture, and spend time at the University's historic campus.

"My office will be in an old 17th century building that was a convent in the old part of the city. It's an interesting place," he said.

Scharnhorst, a scholar of note, recently completed two articles. One is on Dickens that he submitted to the Dickens Quarterly; the other is on 19th century journalist Kate Field. "I compiled a bibliography of all her journalism, no small task since she published in 20 or 25 newspapers, including British newspapers," he said. He spent time last summer in the British Library, his work in London supported by funding from UNM's Research Allocations Committee.

"The UNM English Department faculty has a long tradition of Fulbright appointments. We have had several distinguished professors with multiple appointments: James Thorson, Tony Marquez, David McPherson and Hamlin Hill. Professor Scharnhorst stands out because he has more Fulbrights than many departments have received," said Scott Sanders, department chair.

"Having served on one of our CIES [Council for International Exchange of Scholars] peer review committees for three years, Gary himself is well aware of the goals of the program. The enterprising and exceptional scholar that he is, he has managed to take fairly full advantage of the opportunities the Fulbright Scholar Program does provide and this is to his credit. Although all his Fulbright grants have been for lecturing/research in Germany, they have been in different award categories and for different programs," said Richard W. Pettit, senior program officer, Europe/Eurasia, Fulbright Scholar Program (CIES).

# # #