Dr. Albrecht Classen, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of German Studies, is one of five new members to join the Arizona Humanities Board of Directors. 

Classen joins Regi Adams, Chris Boyer, Natalia Ronceria Ceballos, and Joe Ray on the Board to offer their guidance as scholars, artists, entrepreneurs, and beyond. Classen also joins Dorrance Dean Alain-Philippe Durand as the second College of Humanities faculty member on the board.  

"As a medievalist and a cultural historian, I am proud to serve on the Board of the AZ Humanities, which will allow me to contribute to the improvement of the lives of all Arizonans in the terms of culture and literature," Classen said. 

Classen has long been a dedicated member of the Arizona Speaks program at AZ Humanities, giving presentations statewide on the Middle Ages, German and European history and culture, and the contributions of German Jesuits to the early Sonoran region.

He has published 114 scholarly books on German and European medieval and early modern literature and serves on many different boards of international journals dedicated to the Humanities. In 2021 he won the Tulliola Renato Filippelli World Award for his prose narratives. He has served for over two decades as the President of the Arizona Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG), and on the boards of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association and national AATG. Dr. Classen has received numerous teaching awards, including the Five Star Faculty Award (2009), and for his service as Director of Undergraduate Studies (2014 and 2015).In 2012, he was awarded the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Arizona Professor of the Year Award.