The University of California, Davis, faculty have selected Spanish literature scholar Samuel G. Armistead, a professor of Spanish language and literature, as the 1998 Faculty Research Lecturer. As the 56th annual Davis Faculty Research Lecturer, Armistead receives one of the campus Academic Senate's most prestigious honors. Traditionally, the recipient of the award gives a campus lecture in the spring. Armistead is an expert of world renown on the Romancero, Hispanic traditional narrative poetry that is the foundation of all Spanish poetic tradition, says Robert Blake, chair of the Spanish and classics department, and a member of the selection committee. Throughout his academic career, Armistead has dedicated his life to the study of Spanish balladry, his extensive field work on Hispanic oral traditional literature taking him to every corner of the Spanish-speaking world from Spain, Portugal and Latin America, to more unexpected places such as Morocco, Louisiana and Israel. In addition to his work on ballads, Armistead also studies medieval Hispanic historiography, the primitive lyric tradition and the origins of medieval Spanish epic poetry. "He has spoken with a clear and authoritative voice with respect to the numerous polemics that surround the genesis of Spanish epic poetry," Blake says. Beginning in the 1950s, Armistead has endeavored to complete a 16-volume study titled "Folk Literature of the Sephardic Jews." He is nearing completion of the eighth volume of his studies about the Sephardi, the occidental branch of European Jews who settled in Spain and Portugal. "Professor Armistead is undaunted and confident in finishing this mammoth undertaking, which truly could only be accomplished by someone who has dedicated an entire scholarly life to its successful completion. His life's work constitutes an admirable obsession to document Sephardic poetic voices from the past and present," Blake says. Armistead's work "has assured that the Sephardic cultural contribution to Hispanic letters will remain forever with us for study and edification." Two years ago, a book was issued in homage to Armistead's work. Titled "Oral Tradition and Hispanic Literature: Essays in Honor of Samuel G. Armistead," it was edited by Michael Caspi. And in 1992, another such volume, "Hispanic Medieval Studies in Honor of Samuel G. Armistead," was released, edited by E. Michael Gerli and Harvey L. Sharrer. Armistead joined the UC Davis faculty in 1982, after having been a professor at the University of Pennsylvania for 12 years, and an associate professor at UCLA earlier in his career. He received all three of his degrees at Princeton University, including his Ph.D. in 1955. He has authored 25 book-length publications and more than 400 articles, and has lectured on Spanish ballads, epics and chronicles at major institutions of higher learning throughout the world. The scholar is a beloved instructor among undergraduates and graduates alike, with an encyclopedic memory of sources, studies, ballads, verses and proverbs, Blake says. "Students and faculty alike continue to be amazed and charmed by his generosity and ever-willingness to collaborate and assist in the pursuit of scholarly knowledge. Graduate students from all fields constantly seek his advice and expertise on their dissertation committees -- and not just from the medieval fields. Only a short time is needed in his company to determine that he is, in every good sense of the phrase, a learned man and a paragon of collegiality and professionalism. He is an inspiration by virtue of his erudition, humility and unswerving desire to advance scholarly knowledge and, in particular, Hispanic letters. Prof. Armistead does this while demonstrating deep concern and affection for the welfare of those around him, from staff to professors," Blake says. During his career, Armistead has received national and international recognition for his scholarship. He has taught as a visiting professor at Columbia University; State University of New York, Stony Brook; and Princeton University. During 1997, he has presented or will present papers in England, Spain and Israel. Armistead has received fellowships, grants and awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society and the Spanish Ministry of Culture, among others. In 1994, he received the National Jewish Book Award in Folklore and Anthropology. He was named Doctor of Humane Letters at Georgetown University in 1990. In 1995, he was elected Honorary Member of the Asociación Hispánica de Literatura Medieval, a privilege few U.S. academics have ever attained. That same year he also received a medal from Tel Aviv University in recognition of his substantial Sephardic research. Established in 1941 by the Davis Sigma Chi club, the Faculty Research Lecturer honor is given annually to a faculty member whose research contributions have greatly enhanced human knowledge and have brought widespread honor and recognition to themselves and the university. In 1951, the UC Davis Academic Senate assumed responsibility for the award. The most recent recipients have been Thomas W. Schoener, professor of biology and environmental studies (1994); Peter Marler, professor emeritus of biology and psychology (1995); Sandra Gilbert, professor of English (1996); and Donald S. Rothchild, professor of political science (1997).