Niklaus Schweizer recognized for service

Niklaus Schweizer, a professor in Mānoa’s College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, has been honored with the 2011 Robert W. Clopton Award for Distinguished Community Service.

Schweizer has exhibited excellence in teaching, research and service for more than 40 years in the field of German language and literature. His unwavering commitment to his scholarship and its multiple intersections with the communities of these islands give testament to his extraordinary record of service. Eight of his published books focus on the interaction of Europeans in the Pacific with the Hawaiian people, and a future publication will focus on individual Caucasians in support of the Hawaiian monarch at the end of the 19th century.

Schweizer has been exemplary in applying his historical and linguistic expertise and intellectual leadership toward improved relations among the Hawaiian, academic community and diplomatic communities. He is regarded by the Friends of ʻIolani Palace as a living cultural treasure and the Royal Order of Kamehameha honored Schweizer as an “Honorary Aliʻi” in the Most Noble Royal Order of Kamehameha I, an honor extended to few men not of Hawaiian ancestry and based on outstanding service to the Hawaiian community.

Schweizer will be recognized for his achievements along with other UH award recipients at the annual Convocation ceremony to be held Tues., Sept. 27,10 a.m. at Mānoa’s Kennedy Theatre. The ceremony is open to the public at no charge, and no reservations are needed.