Humphrey R. Tonkin (born 2 December 1939) is professor of English, and served as the 4th president of the University of Hartford. He is also a dedicated Esperantist.

Biography

Born in Truro, UK, Tonkin is a dual citizen of the U.K. and the U.S. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cambridge University and his PhD from Harvard University. His academic specialities include the English Renaissance and

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of ...

, as well as language use and international languages. As a professor of the University of Pennsylvania, Tonkin in 1970 received the

Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching The Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award is given out by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation. History Christian Lindback was the president and owner of Abbotts Dairies. He was also a trustee of Bucknell University. His foundation e ...

. From 1971 to 1975 he served as Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Studies. In 1974 he was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

and spent a research year (1975-76) at Oxford University. The years 1980–81 he spent as a visiting professor at Columbia University; in 1983 he became president of the

Potsdam College The State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam or, colloquially, Potsdam) is a public college in Potsdam (village), New York, Potsdam, New York (state), New York. It is the northernmost member of the State University of New York ( ...

of the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

. From 1989 to 1998 he was president of the University of Hartford and University Professor of the Humanities. In 2006 he received the Cassandra Pyle Award for Leadership and Collaboration in International Education and Exchange. In semi-retirement, he taught Shakespeare and Development of Theatre at the University of Hartford's Hartt School until 2015. As an Esperantist, Tonkin has written and translated numerous works in and about the language. Between 1974 and 1980 as well as between 1986 and 1989 he was president of the Universal Esperanto Association. In 1983 he was among the founders of the Esperantophone Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino (AIS). Tonkin is also a member of the Akademio de Esperanto. Tonkin is one of the editors of the journal '' Language Problems and Language Planning''.

Fund for Innovation

In 2022 Esperantic Studies Foundation created a fund that bears his name: "''Humphrey Tonkin Fund for Innovation''" to accelerate new projects for research in education and linguistic justice.

References

External links

*
biography
in English from the University of Hartford *A

from Virginia Commonwealth University about Tonkin as a guest lecturer
Works
by Tonkin in Esperanto {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonkin, Humphrey Tonkin, Humphrey R. 1939 births Living people Harvard University alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty Columbia University staff Presidents of campuses of the State University of New York State University of New York at Potsdam Presidents of the University of Hartford People from Truro English Esperantists Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of Hartford Hartt School faculty