Dr. Tryntje Helfferich, associate professor of history, has received the 2025 Paul W. Brown Excellence in Teaching Award, one of the top teaching awards given to professors teaching in the humanities at The Ohio State University. Helfferich teaches at Ohio State Lima.
“The award is wonderful, not just for me personally, but because it recognizes the importance of a strong humanities education for our students. When they study history, they not only have fun and gain an enriched understanding of the past, but they also develop the ability to read critically, write cogently, and analyze the world around them. These are all skills that will benefit students no matter what career they choose, and are also key in helping Ohio State Lima fulfil Ohio State's mission of fostering ‘Education for citizenship.’”
The Paul W. Brown Excellence in Teaching Award annually recognizes superior teaching by a faculty member in the Department of History and a faculty member in the Department of English. Dr. Helfferich joins Dr. Stanley Blake, who won the award in 2015. The award is made possible by Susan Ellen Brown in memory of her father, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul W. Brown.
Winners of the Paul W. Brown Award have displayed a sustained record of outstanding teaching in a range of undergraduate courses, with an emphasis placed on outstanding performance in the classroom. Nominations come from students, colleagues and alumni.
More about Dr. Helfferich
Tryntje Helfferich received her MA from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and her PhD in early modern European history from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She studies German Central Europe during the early modern period (1450-1815), with a particular focus on the Reformation and the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). She is interested in the history of war, the history of religion, the history of ideas, and diplomatic history. Her publications include The Essential Luther (Hackett, 2018); The Essential Thirty Years War (Hackett, 2015); The Iron Princess: Amalia Elisabeth and the Thirty Years War (Harvard, 2013); On the Freedom of a Christian (Hackett, 2013); and The Thirty Years War: A Documentary History (Hackett, 2009). Her areas of expertise include early modern European history, military history, history of war, German and central European history, religion in history, history of Christianity, intellectual history and diplomatic history.