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Service to the community, service to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and service to greater education in general have been a part of Dr. Katherine Roberts’ life since the Cold War hockey rumble of the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

For Roberts’ outstanding service throughout the campus community and particularly in the Faculty Senate where she served as president from 1999-2000, Roberts has been recognized with the Barbara G. Sniffen Faculty Governance Service Award.

According to Roberts, Sniffen acted as a mentor and role model for many faculty members by leading a continuous battle for faculty rights and epitomizing the concept of service.

Since Sniffen’s death in 2003, this distinguished award has been given annually to a UW Oshkosh faculty member who has shown exceptional University service.

Nominated by the first Sniffen Award recipient and political science professor James Simmons, Roberts was chosen for her dedication to enhancing faculty rights, engaging the community in Shakespeare on the Fox and laying the groundwork for the required Theme Based Inquiry Seminar program at UW Oshkosh.

“I am honored to receive this award,” Roberts said. “And feel indebted to both Barbara Sniffen and Virginia Crane for teaching me that you must stand up for what you believe in. I am still teaching here because of these two women.”

Beginning her teaching career as a lecturer at UW Oshkosh in 1980, Roberts has reached a tenured position within the English Department and received the 1992 Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award for her dedication to the classroom. Her areas of specialization include Renaissance Literature, Shakespeare, Medieval Literature and Women’s Studies.

Outside of the classroom, she is a member of several societies including: The Sidney Society, The Spenser Society, the Sixteenth-Century Studies Society and The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals (TAUWP).

Roberts’ services to these organizations include numerous committee and leadership positions. Highlighted in these responsibilities is the Women Writer’s Research Colloquium a university-wide writers’ group which was co-founded by Roberts in 1992.

Roberts earned a bachelor’s degree in French literature from Kansas State University and master’s and doctorate degrees in English literature from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.