Simon Richter Named Class of 1965 Term Professor of German

Simon Richter, Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, has been named Class of 1965 Term Professor of German. Richter’s research focuses on cultural aspects of the climate emergency in Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and the United States. As an environmental humanist, Richter engages in activities that blur distinctions between traditional scholarship, urban design, and environmental activism. He was instrumental in establishing the Penn 1.5 Minute Climate Lectures and Climate Week at Penn. With Professor of Fine Arts Joshua Mosley, Richter directs the Penn Animation as Research Lab, which produces the popular Project Poldergeist series of videos about climate adaptation in the Netherlands. Richter is a faculty fellow of Perry World House and of the Penn Institute of Urban Research, a faculty advisory board member of the Water Center at Penn, and is affiliated with Cinema & Media Studies and the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities. His exemplary teaching has been recognized with the Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Dennis M. DeTurck Award for Innovation in Teaching.

The Class of 1965 Term Chairs were established in 1990 in honor of its 25th Reunion. The Class of 1965 endowed a chair for each of the four undergraduate schools and one in honor of the College for Women.