Fred Breit concludes 30-year teaching career

Fred Breit

Professor Fred Breit, who has inspired several generations of Whitman students with his insightful teaching on the history of Western civilization, retired this spring after more than 30 years at the College. Breit, who came to Whitman in 1967, is a former Paul Garrett Faculty Fellow. He has been active in the first-year core program and served as its coordinator.

He is a "memorable teacher noted for his integrity, rigor, and dedication to the study of ideas," said Pat Keef, dean of the faculty. One of Breit's colleagues wrote: "He cares deeply about the way students write and think, he is demanding in the best sense of the word, and he is committed to the world of ideas. I know of no one on the Whitman faculty with a greater breadth of knowledge."

Breit has served as a book reviewer for The Annals, a publication of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and for the journals Choice and Philosophy and Literature. Recipient of a Ph.D. from Duke University, he traveled to Berlin several times during the last decade to serve as a commentator on German history and politics at conference sessions and at Bradley University Berlin Seminars.

In 1993, he participated in a faculty development seminar sponsored by the Council on International Educational Exchange.