Dr Uwe Meves, Professor Emeritus of German Medieval Studies (the study of the German language and literature of the Middle Ages) at the University of Oldenburg, has been awarded a "Lower Saxony Professorship" for the History of German Studies. In a very prominent field of applicants, Meves prevailed with his proposal to continue three of his research projects: A volume of documents on the history of German studies in the 19th century, which contains a large number of previously unpublished and annotated sources; a volume of commentaries on the correspondence between the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm; and an edition of the correspondence between the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and the philologist Moriz Haupt. "The Lower Saxony Professorship for Prof. Dr Uwe Meves continues to make the quality and reputation of Oldenburg's medieval studies visible," says the Vice President for Research, Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Hans-Jürgen Appelrath. The professorship is an excellent opportunity for Meves to complete his research projects supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Excellent research does not depend on age - this is the starting point of the "Research 65+ - The Lower Saxony Professorship" funding programme launched by the state of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation, with the aim of keeping top researchers at universities beyond the legal age limit - like Prof. Dr. Uwe Meves, university lecturer at the Institute for German Studies, who retired at the end of the 2009 summer semester. Meves' academic career began at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, where he gained his doctorate in 1976 with a study on Spielmannsepik. After his second State Examination, he carried out research at the University of Trier and was appointed to the professorship for older German language and literature in Oldenburg in 1987. Meves' research and teaching specialisms include medieval literature in a social and cultural-historical context and the history of German studies. He is the spokesperson for the international editorial board of the critical edition of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's correspondence; his projects have been funded by the DFG on numerous occasions.