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Dr. William Knoblauch achieves tenure

May 21, 2018

Finlandia University is pleased to announce that Dr. William Knoblauch has achieved tenure status and named an Associate Professor.

“It feels great to become an Associate Professor,” said Knoblauch. “It’s been a long process with a lot of requirements, and involves a critical evaluation by your colleagues and administrators, so it takes quite a while.

William Knoblauch“That being said, I found the process to be a lot of fun. It’s the task of looking back over the past, collecting, sorting and organizing documents, then putting together cohesive narratives from those documents to show change over time. In short, that’s what historians do, so it was a familiar process to me.”

Knoblauch joined Finlandia in 2012 and currently chairs the History department. He teaches 17 courses, including History of Rock & Roll, Energy and World Power, and Rise of American Capitalism. He recently won the Board of Trustee’s Distinguished Faculty Award at the 2018 Commencement Ceremony.

Knoblauch received his B.A. in Business & Economics and History from Northland College in 2003, his M.A. in U.S. History from Northern Arizona University in 2006 and his Ph.D. in 20th Century U.S. History from Ohio University in 2012. He researches and writes about Cold War politics and culture, has spoken at 17 conferences across the country since 2005, been published in 11 book chapters and journal articles, and is currently working on three more pieces set to come out this year.

For Knoblauch, achieving tenured status completes one of his many career goals, which changed drastically since began his undergraduate education. After receiving his business degree, he went back to school the following year to get his B.A. in history. He moved to Seattle for a short stint in the music scene before he moved back to Wisconsin.

After spending some time as a substitute teacher, Knoblauch returned to school for his M.A. and eventually his Ph.D. Before coming to Finlandia, he served as an instructor for Ohio University, a lecturer at University of Wisconsin-Richland and a Visiting Assistant Professor at Northland College. For him, tenured status validates his career choice.

“If fully completing a Ph.D. is the recognition that you can be a professor, getting tenure is the recognition that you’re actually doing the work expected of a professor,” said Knoblauch. “Just getting an academic job and being affable in the classroom or with coworkers isn’t enough; to be legit, you have to do the work once you’re there. The payoff is supposed to be somewhat more freedom of speech and expression, which I fully intend to take advantage of.”

About Tenure Status

To apply for tenure, a member of the Finlandia faculty submits a portfolio exemplifying their accomplishments since their appointment at the university. Qualified candidates are eligible to apply for tenure after being with the university for six years. 
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