The UH System

Who We Are

Robert W. Clopton Award for Outstanding Service to the Community

Clopton Award Winner

2011
Niklaus Schweizer

Niklaus Schweizer, a professor in Manoa’s College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, has exhibited excellence in teaching, research and service for more than 40 years in the field of German language and literature. His unwavering commitment to his scholarship and its multiple intersections with the communities of these islands give testament to his extraordinary record of service.

Eight of his published books focus on the interaction of Europeans in the Pacific with the Hawaiian people, and a future publication will focus on individual Caucasians in support of the Hawaiian monarch at the end of the 19th century. He has written in Swiss, German, English and Hawaiian languages and shares a vast knowledge and expertise as a historian of Hawaiian and European history.

Through sustained and broad-based contributions to the community, Schweizer has been exemplary in applying his historical and linguistic expertise and intellectual leadership toward improved relations among the Hawaiian, academic community and diplomatic communities. He is regarded by the Friends of ‘Iolani Palace as a living cultural treasure and the Royal Order of Kamehameha honored Schweizer as an “Honorary Ali‘i” in the Most Noble Royal Order of Kamehameha I, an honor extended to few men not of Hawaiian ancestry and based on outstanding service to the Hawaiian community.

The Robert W. Clopton Award for Outstanding Service to the Community recognizes a UH Manoa faculty member for playing a socially significant role by applying intellectual leadership and academic expertise to the improvement of the community. The award was established as a memorial to longtime Manoa College of Education Professor Robert Clopton and first awarded in 1977.

Select a recipient to learn more about that individual.