German professor Wolfgang Mieder has recently been recognized by two international organizations for his scholarship.  Most recently, the U.S-based international learned society for the field of folklore studies, the American Folklore Society, has bestowed Wolfgang with its highest award for scholarship, the AFS Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award.

According to its president, Professor Diane E. Goldstein, Chair of the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, this recognition is richly deserved. “Professor Mieder is most well-known for his work on the proverb, but he is no less accomplished in his research into folk speech and folk narrative, conversational genres, and poetry. In addition, he has written several indispensible reference works and bibliographies, and has contributed significantly to the intellectual history of international folklore studies.”

Earlier this fall, Wolfgang was also awarded the European Fairy Tale Prize, the most prestigious award in fairy tale scholarship. It involves a stipend of $5000.00.  Wolfgang was honored with this award in Germany on September 13, 2012. He received the award "in recognition of his highly acclaimed work in the field of proverbs and fairy tales. The jury unanimously named the international perspective of [his] work, the high number of publications and their reception in several continents as well as their reach far beyond academic circles as reasons for their decision."

Wolfgang received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1970 and joined the Department of German and Russian as an assistant professor in 1971.  From 1975 to 1978 he was an associate professor and he became a full professor in 1978.  Wolfgang chaired the department for 31 years from 1977 to 2008. Wolfgang’s scholarship, teaching, and commitment to UVM are without equal and he is a true inspiration and role model for the students and faculty.