Simi Valley resident Sigmar Schwarz, PhD, a professor in the English Department at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, received the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award on April 29 at the university’s Honors Day banquet.

The award was created by CLU President Luther S. Luedtke to recognize teachers who are held in high esteem by their peers, students and the university community. The award was presented for the first time in 1995.

A member of the CLU faculty since 1972, Schwarz received master and doctoral degrees from University of Southern California. A former Woodrow Wilson Fellow and North Dakota Education Association Fellow, Schwarz is an authority in Asian Pacific and minority studies. He teaches courses on non-Western writers, with an emphasis on Afro-Americans, Chicanos and Native Americans. He is active in the Modern Language Association and the National Council of Teachers of English.