John Wunder, professor emeritus in the Department of History, passed away June 25.
Wunder earned a law degree in 1970 from the University of Iowa and his Ph.D. in 1974 from the University of Washington. He arrived at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1988 to serve as director of the Center for Great Plains Studies (CGPS) until 1997. He also served as an associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office and president of the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society and the Western History Association.
He authored or edited over 20 books and numerous essays and articles on topics such as the Great Plains and American legal history. Retained by the People: A History of American Indians and the Bill of Rights won Phi Alpha Theta's award for the best history book in 1995.
John Wunder, left, with a colleague. Photo courtesy Katie Nieland.
In 2016, CGPS opened the Wunder Book Collection, scholarly works about the Great Plains and Natives in the Plains donated by Wunder.
Among other accolades, he received the 2021 Sower Award in the Humanities from Humanities Nebraska for his contribution to the public understanding of the humanities and the university's Annis Chaikin Sorenson Award for Outstanding Teacher in 1994. He was the first professor from UNL to be selected to hold the Fulbright Bicentennial Chair in American Studies in Finland.
Read more:
- Obituary on legacy.com
- Interview with Dr. Wunder in Great Plains Quarterly
- Watch: "Great Plains Anywhere: John Wunder"
