Gunhild Lischke wins Sophie Washburn French Instructorship

Gunhild Lischke, Senior Lecturer, Language Program Director, and Acting Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of German Studies, has been named the winner of the 2018-19 Sophie Washburn French Instructorship. The award, named in honor of Sophie Washburn French, is given annually to recognize excellence in language instruction among lecturer faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences. The awardee holds the instructorship for one academic year. In addition to the title, the holder of the Sophie Washburn French Instructorship in a given year receives professional development funds in the amount of $5,000.

The selection committee cited Lischke's “excellence as both pedagogue and program director, her tireless advocacy on behalf of students and teachers of German, her steadfast mentorship of graduate teaching assistants; and her astonishing breadth of professional activity and expertise” in their announcement. They note that over the course of thirty years at Cornell, Lischke “has proven herself to be not just dynamic but a veritable dynamo: responsible not only for countless students' interest in and engagement with German culture, but also for much of the current shape and success of Cornell's undergraduate German program, as well as the thorough integration of that program with the larger German-speaking world.”

Lischke’s research interests include second language acquisition, applied linguistics, language pedagogy, curriculum development, professional development for language teachers and German business culture.