[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 7, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E844-E845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING DR. BRENDA DEEN SCHILDGEN OF DAVIS, CALIFORNIA, RECIPIENT OF 
   THE 2008 UC DAVIS PRIZE FOR UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AND SCHOLARLY 
                              ACHIEVEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 7, 2008

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Dr. Brenda Deen Schildgen, the 2008 recipient of the University of 
California, Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching an Scholarly 
Achievement. The prize is awarded to recognize scholars who are 
successful not only in their research, but convey their excitement and 
love of scholarship to students they teach. Dr. Schildgen is an eminent 
scholar of medieval European literature and biblical studies, but her 
hallmark at UC Davis is imparting her knowledge and passion for these 
subjects to students.
  Born in London to a Russian mother and Indian father, Dr. Schildgen 
was the first in her family to go to college. Her Jewish mother and 
Muslim father sent her to a French convent in England through high 
school. Crossing the Atlantic for college, she earned a bachelor's 
degree in English and French at the University of Wisconsin--Madison, a 
master's and Ph.D. in comparative literature at Indiana University and 
a second master's, in religious studies, at the University of San 
Francisco.
  Her path to an academic career was also unconventional. Dr. Schildgen 
served for 8 years as a lecturer at UC Davis before she was hired in 
2002 as a full professor of comparative literature--an almost unheard-
of jump in academia, where faculty typically climb, rung by rung, from 
assistant professor to associate professor to professor. In addition to 
her research and teaching, Dr. Schildgen has been instrumental in 
building UC Davis' highly praised University Writing Program and has 
been a staunch advocate for the development of writing skills not just 
in English courses but across all disciplines.
  A scholar who works with literature in English, Italian, French, 
Spanish, Greek and Latin--she describes herself as ``dabbling'' in

[[Page E845]]

Sanskrit as well--Dr. Schildgen has written five critically acclaimed 
books and edited four others, as well as authoring some three dozen 
scholarly articles and more than a dozen invited book or article 
reviews. An internationally respected authority on Dante, Chaucer and 
the gospel of Mark, especially in the context of Islam and Judaism, she 
has lectured throughout the United States, in India, the Middle East 
and Europe, and received numerous fellowships, grants and awards from 
the National Endowment for the Humanities and other prestigious 
organizations.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, it is appropriate at this time for us 
to acknowledge and thank Dr. Schildgen for her years of exemplary work 
as a scholar and educator, and congratulate her on receiving this well 
deserved award. Her commitment to inspiring and educating students has 
been unwavering, and she deserves our collective recognition and 
thanks.

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