KU News Release

LAWRENCE — The American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages has named University of Kansas associate professor William J. Comer as the 2009 recipient of its Distinguished Service Award. He is the third faculty member from KU’s Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures to win a prestigious award from the association.

Comer was cited by colleagues for his high-quality service to the organization. From 2004 to 2007, he chaired the committee that organizes the association’s annual national meeting.

“We are very proud of Bill’s accomplishments, which have contributed not just to the excellence of the Slavic field but have also raised the national profile of KU’s Slavic department for many years,” said Marc L. Greenberg, professor and chair of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

KU’s Slavic department is among the rare departments to receive multiple awards from the association. In 2005, professor Maria Carlson earned an Excellence in Teaching (Post-Secondary) Award, and Greenberg was honored for the Best Book in Slavic Linguistics in 2002.

The award will be presented Dec. 28 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Comer joined the KU faculty in 1992. His research and teaching focus on Russian culture and ways of teaching Russian and Slavic languages to English speakers. In 2008, he published Viktoria Tokareva’s novel “Den’ bez vran’ia” (A Day without Lying) in a special edition for Russian language learners.