The History Department recognizes Professor Marsha Frey for her forty-eight years of service. She joined the faculty in 1973. Professor Frey specializes in the history of early modern Europe, with expertise in European diplomacy. Professor Frey will retire from Kansas State University at the end of the Spring 2021 semester.
In collaboration with her sister Linda Frey, who is a professor of history at the University of Montana, Professor Frey co-authored fourteen books and more than 100 scholarly articles and chapters. Their works have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Hungarian. Writing in the American Historical Review, historian John Mears praised their first book, A Question of Empire: Leopold I and the War of the Spanish Succession, 1701-1705 (1983) for offering a “revealing perspective on the inescapable problems involved in waging coalition warfare.” In 2000, they published The History of Diplomatic Immunity. Writing in the Journal of World History, historian Hal Friedman celebrated that monograph, winner of the Phi Alpha Theta outstanding book award, as “a superb history of European international law.” The Freys continue to produce into the present, with Palgrave-MacMillan publishing their most recent book, The Culture of French Revolutionary Diplomacy: In the Face of Europe in 2018.
In addition to her accomplishments as a scholar, Professor Frey has been a pillar of the teaching mission of the Department of History at Kansas State University during her nearly half-century on the faculty. Her tireless efforts in teaching the introductory survey to Western Civilization from ancient times to the early modern era inspired generations of students to enroll in her popular upper division classes on such topics as the French Revolution and European diplomacy. Her expertise contributed to the military history and international relations emphases of the department’s graduate programs. Indeed, her many years of service vetting graduate student applications helped shape its very character to the present day.
The Department of History at Kansas State University will miss Professor Marsha Frey’s scholarly productivity, commitment to teaching and mentoring, and tireless efforts on behalf of our program. We wish Professor Frey the very best as she starts the next chapter of her life.
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