Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professorship
2011-12 Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professor – Kenneth Waltzer
Dr. Waltzer is an internationally known historian of the Holocaust, focusing on American and American Jewish responses to the destruction of European Jewry, on rescue in Europe, and on the experiences of children and youths in the Nazi concentration camps. He is preparing two books, Telling the Story: The Rescue of Children and Youths at Buchenwald, and Children's Stories: Youths in the Nazi Concentration Camps. He is also studying changes in global anti-Semitism and the impacts of the re-emergence of anti-Semitism on Jewish life.
While at UM-Flint, Professor Waltzer is working with the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching, the Department of History, and the Graduate Program in Social Sciences. Along with lectures and seminars for faculty and for students, he is continuing his research on Holocaust survivors, and will be utilizing the UM-Flint's new link with the Shoah Visual History Foundation archive of testimonies at the University of Southern California.
Dr. Waltzer will be leading a faculty seminar and instructing a student seminar winter term 2012. The following pages have detailed information.
http://blogs.umflint.edu/winegarden/author/ken-waltzer/
http://blogs.umflint.edu/waltzer/
Upcoming events:
Welcome to campus, November 1, 2011
Dr. Waltzer’s Welcome Reception Comments
Kristalnacht lecture, Thursday, November 10, 2011
"The Rescue of Children and Youths at Buchenwald"
Event News
Feature length documentary film, early April
"Kinderblock 66"
Dr. Waltzer's Blogs, "WInegarden Visiting Professor"
"New Directions in Study of the Holocaust"
“I am excited about being at UM-Flint and working with the faculty colleagues and students in exploring human experiences beyond extremity.”
Renowned historian Kenneth Waltzer, Ph.D. has been appointed as the 2011-12 Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professor.
Dr. Waltzer attended SUNY Binghamton's Harpur College and was a Graduate Prize Fellow and earned a Ph.D. in History from Harvard University. He joined MSU in 1971 where he helped build the highly reputed James Madison College, and where he also later served as Dean and Associate Dean. Dr. Waltzer also served as Director of General Education in the arts and humanities at MSU and is currently Director of Jewish Studies. He received a State of Michigan Teaching Excellence Award in 1990 and an Alumni Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher Award in 1998.
Dr. Waltzer has a fascinating background. He began his social history research in American urban and immigration history. His American Identity Explorer: Immigration and Migration CD-ROM [with Kathleen Geissler] (McGraw-Hill, 1999, 2001) follows seven migrating groups through four portals to America into immigrant and migrant neighborhoods in six American cities during the Ellis Island era and assesses comparative experiences, American responses, and more.
In more recent years, Dr. Waltzer has been in the news as the Holocaust researcher who discovered that a survivor memoir titled Angel at the Fence – soon to be a blockbuster movie – was a Holocaust memoir fraud. He is also currently consultant to Big Foot Productions in New York, which is making a film about kinderblock 66 at Buchenwald and the rescue of children and youths inside a concentration camp.
Dr. Waltzer’s nominees include: Professor of English Jacqueline Zeff; Lecturer of English Julie Colish; and Professor of History Teddy Robertson. Many activities are planned throughout the academic year beginning with a Welcome Reception scheduled for Tuesday, November 1, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., in the Frances Willson Thompson Library Atrium.
Kristalnacht Lecture … A Success
Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professor Kenneth Waltzer presented a public lecture co-hosted by the University of Michigan-Flint and the Flint Jewish Federation on Thursday evening, November 10. Approximately 100 attendees heard Dr. Waltzer briefly commemorate Kristallnacht by speaking of the experiences of Jews who were brought to Buchenwald in 1938-1939 and then tell the story of the rescue of children and youths, mainly Jews, who were brought to Buchenwald in 1944-1945.
The lecture was in the KIVA of the University Center and was followed by a reception including hors d’oeuvres where guests had the opportunity to meet and talk with Dr. Waltzer. His lecture was stellar and intriguing as he described everyday life as it was for the children of Buchenwald, a Nazi concentration camp near Weimar, and the protection and rescue that took place inside the camp.
History and Application Process of the Winegarden Professorship
The Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professorship was established in 2001 through a generous gift from the estate of Margaret Winegarden. This gift enables the University of Michigan-Flint to bring individuals of national and international reputation to our campus.
The guidelines for the Professorship specify that the candidate contribute to the understanding and appreciation for the sciences and humanities in the context of the emerging global world economy. Winegarden Visiting Professors will be expected to spend a significant amount of time on our campus during the fall or winter semester. They will teach and/or interact with classes, participate in meetings with students and faculty, conduct lectures for students, faculty, staff and the community, offer seminars and colloquia for faculty, etc.
Candidates for this Visiting Professorship need not hold a traditional faculty appointment; however, they should be nationally or internationally acclaimed for their professional work. The Provost, in consultation with the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, will appoint a faculty selection committee to determine the successful nomination.
The open window to submit applications normally occurs in the spring and will be announced by the Office of the Provost. To submit a nomination, please complete the nomination form and mail the completed form to Sue Fabbro, Office of the Provost, sefabbro@umflint.edu, 229 University Pavilion. The only supporting documentation needed is a brief biographical sketch and a statement addressing the question, “How would the nominee contribute to the understanding of and appreciation for the sciences and humanities in the context of the emerging global world economy?” Please contact the nominee to be sure they would be interested in coming to our campus and to get a sense of the remuneration they would need. Recipients typically spend the equivalent of one month on campus, which could occur by several visits during the semester or an extended stay.