2019 Annual Report final

Bruce Karstadt, President/CEO of the American
Swedish Institute, Awarded Honorary Doctorate
from Sweden’s Lund University
Bruce Karstadt, President/CEO of the American Swedish Institute since 1990, was conferred with an honorary
doctorate by Lund University in Sweden in recognition of his many years stewarding Swedish culture and Swedish-
American relations in the United States. Karstadt received the title of Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa from the
Faculty of Humanities at Sweden’s prestigious Lund University in a ceremony in Lund on May 24, 2019.
“Bruce Karstadt has spent 30 years of his life promoting and discussing Swedish culture, Swedish daily life and traditions
with an American audience, an audience that often has Swedish roots. His importance for Swedish-American relations
is signifi cant, and we are proud to have him as an honorary doctor at our Faculty,” said Professor Barbara Törnquist-
Plewa, Dean of The Faculty of Humanities.
During Karstadt’s leadership, ASI has developed into one of the leading organizations for the conservation and
promotion of Swedish culture in North America, as well as functioning as an important gathering place where diverse
people can meet to share and contrast emigrations experiences and stories from different communities. Lund University
also cited the infl uence of ASI’s exhibitions, attention to such topics as design, environmental awareness and daily life in
Sweden and Swedish America, as well as collaborations and exchanges with Swedish academics and artists, as the basis
for this honor.
Left to right: Bruce Karstadt, Helle Vandkillde (Aarhus U archaelologist) and Timothy Snyder
(Yale historian), honorary doctors
The recipients of Lund University’s honorary degrees are recognized for achievements of major importance to the
University or for society. Lund University, founded in 1666, ranks among the world’s top 100 universities.
Karstadt is also Honorary Consul General of Sweden for the State of Minnesota and was honored by HM Carl XVI
Gustaf, King of Sweden, with the insignia of the Royal Order of the Polar Star. The Swedish chapters of the Vasa Order
of America selected him as the 2018 Swedish American of the Year and the City of Uppsala also presented him with its
Gold Medal for creating a strong Sister City relationship with Minneapolis. He received the 2012 Carl Sandburg Medal
from the Swedish American Historical Society in Chicago. Karstadt is a Lindsborg, Kansas, native, a town founded by
Swedish immigrants in 1869 to which his great-grandparents immigrated in the late 1800s.
Lund University
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