October 15, 1999
Contact: Ranjit Arab, University Relations, (785) 864-8855.
LAWRENCE -- Just days before a delegation from Lawrence's German sister city is to visit campus, a University of Kansas professor has been awarded one of Germany's rarest and most prestigious civilian honors for promoting relations between Germany and America.
William Keel, chair and professor of Germanic languages and literatures, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross of the Federal Republic (Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande der Budesrepublik Deutschland) on Oct. 8, by Consul General Michael Engelhard from Chicago. The award was presented as a surprise during the Goethe in Exile (1933-1945) Symposium at the Max Kade Center for Germanic-American Studies on the KU campus.
Keel is the second KU professor to receive the Distinguished Serive Cross medal. J. Anton Burzle, department chair from 1947 to 1967 previously received the award as well.
"We are building a little bit of tradition here at KU," Keel said.
Honorary Consul Willard Snyder of Kansas City, who also attended the presentation, said that Keel was chosen because of his relentless efforts in coordinating the sister-city program between Lawrence and Eutin, Germany.
"The initiative he took toward encouraging German studies not only at the university but throughout Kansas in general is what got him recognized," Snyder said.
A delegation from Eutin, including its mayor, will be on the KU campus Monday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the sister-city program with Lawrence. The delegation will tour Lawrence, local high schools and the Haskell Indian Nations University. Furthermore, it will honor KU's Max Kade Center library with a book presentation.
Although Keel said that most of the representatives had visited Lawrence previously, he said he was excited to show them the many new commercial ventures that have developed in the city since their last visit.
Aside from the sister-city program, Keel has been instrumental in several other projects, including establishing the Yearbook of German-American Studies, and documenting the various dialects of surviving German-Speaking immigrants throughout the state. He also was president and state organizer of the Kansas Association of Teachers of German, which helps high schools develop methods for promoting German language classes. His duties included coordinating an annual six-week student exchange with Eutin.
Keel said he was very proud of the student exchange program because it helped bridge many cultural gaps.
"At least 100 families in both cities have been involved in the exchange program during the last 10 years," he said. "The more we establish these kinds of personal relationships between people in different cultures, the less likely we are to have differences that are settled through wars."
Kade Center director Frank Baron said he admired Keel for his tremendous energy and enthusiasm in keeping all of these projects afloat.
"I think it is something that makes the work of our department receive some recognition because of his achievements," Baron said. "The fact that the president of Germany signs it is, in itself, an indication that it is a great honor."