Frederick Kiefer, PhD

Having accrued nearly five decades in his professional endeavors, Frederick Kiefer, PhD has served the University of Arizona since 1973. Originally joining the faculty as a professor of English, in 1995 he was honored with the title of university distinguished professor. An expert in Shakespeare and his fellow playwrights, he teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, conducts research and publishes on his studies, and currently serves on several academic committees to support the university. With the institution, he has been the recipient of a Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Humanities and a Mortar Board Award for Teaching and Service.

A renowned author, Dr. Kiefer has written five books on Shakespeare, including, “English Drama from Everyman to 1660: Performance and Print, Shakespeare’s Visual Theatre, Fortune and Elizabethan Tragedy.” Notably, he won the award for the Best Book in the Field of Shakespeare Studies by the University of Delaware Press and accepted a fellowship at the Huntington Library. A member of the Renaissance Society of America and the Shakespeare Association of America, Dr. Kiefer attends a meeting of the latter every two years in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, Shakespeare’s birthplace.

Dr. Kiefer earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Loyola College Maryland in 1967 before matriculating at Harvard University, where he attained a Master of Arts in English in 1968 and a Doctor of Philosophy in English in 1972. Attributing the success of his career to his strong work ethic, he also credits a love for reading and writing that was created during his youth. In five years’ time, Dr. Kiefer hopes to ease into a well-deserved retirement while continuing to do his part in inspiring young minds.