King Fellow Citation 2017 - William “Bill” Frank

“”“”Now into a fourth decade at UD, this year’s King Fellow has been exemplary in teaching, service, and scholarship.

This teacher is well-loved at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, with care for students shown, for example, by helpful and constantly refined study guides and outlines, by careful preparation for classes often taught, by the detailed correction of assigned work, and by the active interest in each student not only during the semester but long after graduation. As one freshman put it this past semester, this professor’s “teaching style is incredibly involving and thought-provoking; even the exams are designed and explained as a great finale to help us understand and to relate the material to our own lives and interests.” It is not uncommon, moreover, to find remarks like the following from a recent student evaluation:“This professor is by far the best one I have had at UD.” Another student writes, “Students should have the privilege to be taught by one of the most passionate, smartest, and nicest teachers at UD.”

In service at UD, this faculty member has twice served as department chair, once as a dean, twice as Academic Director in Rome, once as academic advisor for the seminarians, frequently as a senator as well as president of the Faculty Senate — and as member of too many university committees to count. In his department, moreover, this professor’s affability and friendliness has often and easily translated into mentoring relationships to younger colleagues, who profit from a memory filled with UD lore as well as wisdom about the core curriculum and other essential elements of a UD education.

In service to the community — at local, national, and international levels—this leading citizen has been unstinting in dedication. Whether it be teaching children or adults at the local parish, or bringing Christmas food baskets to the poor, or hosting a home-cooked “poetry dinner” for Charity Week, or teaching monthly in the diaconate program for the Diocese of Dallas, or organizing week-long international forums for church, state, and business leaders, this faculty member is widely loved for the attentive care given to many neighbors. But always in first place has been the greatest care for spouse, children, and now grandchildren — in ways that have inspired many a student and colleague to live a similar balance in an ordered and hard-working life.

In scholarship, this year’s King Fellow publishes regularly, addressing both perennial professional issues and a wide range of pressing contemporary issues. Recognized as an authority in his field, this untiring scholar has also, for almost twenty years, participated in and now directs the German-American Colloquium that brings together scholars and cultural leaders to foster international study and dialogue about the most important issues of contemporary concern.

This year’s King Fellow has enriched UD greatly during thirty-one years here and has brought the best of UD to many, many others: locally, nationally, and internationally.