The Travels and Travails of Scholarship Today

Abstract

I am much honored to address this conference and wish to thank President Krausch for his kind invitation to do so. It is a privilege to be visiting for the first time Johannes Gutenberg University, which is so ably led by President Krausch and his team. I also want to thank Vice Dean Alfred Hornung for his help in setting this program. As a scholar of American studies, he knows, I am sure, that for many years my organization, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Amerikastudien provided valuable opportunities for young German Americanists to carry out research in the United States. Prof. Dr. Hornung has been a principal in establishing a number of other exchange programs, including one that brought a young Mainz PhD, Dr. Nicole Stahlmann, to the United States and eventually to the ACLS, where she is now the Director of Fellowship Programs, overseeing the award of more than $15 million in fellowship stipends this year. Nicole is a valued colleague, and I want to thank the university and Dr. Hornung for preparing her so well for her considerable responsibilities.