UNLV has named Joseph "Andy" Fry distinguished professor, the highest honor awarded to a faculty member.
UNLV President Carol C. Harter named Fry, a member of the history department faculty, a distinguished professor based on the recommendation of a university committee. The designation of distinguished professor is not made every year. The honor is granted only after very serious consideration of a highly select group of faculty. Nominees must have demonstrated extraordinary qualities both as teachers and scholars and must have achieved national and international recognition in their fields of study.
"Andy's career at UNLV has been defined not only by his commitment to teaching but by his commitment to excellence," said Harter. "His contributions to the field of history are invaluable and have enriched the educational experiences of countless students over the years. We are privileged to have him among our faculty, and I am pleased to honor him with this award."
Fry joined the UNLV faculty in 1975 and teaches courses on U.S. foreign relations, history of the South after 1850, U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and the U.S. history survey.
"It has been a great privilege to teach at UNLV over the past 27 years," said Fry. " Since I am keenly aware of the high quality of our faculty, I am especially flattered and honored to have been designated a UNLV Distinguished Professor of History."
Fry has published three books: "Henry S. Sanford: Diplomacy and Business in Nineteenth Century America" (1982); "John Tyler Morgan and the Search for Southern Autonomy" (1992); and "Dixie Looks Abroad: The South and U.S. Foreign Relations" (2002). He has also written more than twenty articles in refereed journals and collections and is the series editor for the "Biographies in American Foreign Policy " series published by Scholarly Resources. To date, nine volumes have been published.
Fry is currently working on two books. The first is a comparison of the Fulbright Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings (Jan.-Feb. 1966) opposing the war in Vietnam and the Stennis Senate Armed Services Preparedness Subcommittee hearings (August 1967) supporting a more vigorous prosecution of the war. The second is a study of the American South and the Vietnam War. He is also a member of the editorial board of the "Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era."
He received his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Virginia in 1970 and 1974 respectively and his bachelor's degree from Davis and Elkins College in 1969. During his career at UNLV, he has served two terms as chair of the history department, one term as associate dean of the former College of Arts and Letters, one term as chair of the Faculty Senate, and one term as executive assistant to the president.
