A specialist in 19^th century German literature and contemporary Swiss and Austrian culture will be the new chair of the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Professor Richard Ruppel has been appointed by Dean Justus Paul to a three-year term as head of the 13-member faculty. He will begin his term in August, succeeding Jan Seiler who has served as department chair for 10 years.

In 1985 Ruppel came to UWSP where he helped to initiate a German language wing in one of the student residence halls and served as adviser to the German Club. He has written and published three books, including one in German, about 19th-century Swiss author Gottfried Keller. Ruppel was a UWSP Teacher/Scholar in Residence during the spring semester last year and received the University Scholar Award in 2001.

He holds a bachelor�s degree from Hartwick College, Oneonta, N.Y., a master�s degree in German studies from Tufts University, Boston, Mass., and a second master�s degree and a Ph.D. in German literature from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

Ruppel has studied and taught in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and has presented numerous papers on German literature and culture at regional, national and international conferences.

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