Timothy J. Kloberdanz was born 22 October 1948, the son of John C. and Elizabeth (Sewald) Kloberdanz. His grandparents and parents were Volga German sugar beet farmers who lived along the South Platte River, near Sterling, Colorado. It was a world of colorful old country nicknames, dialect-rich proverbs, mysterious customs, delectable food ways, and haunting stories.
Dr. Kloberdanz earned his BA in anthropology from the University of Colorado (1971). He earned a masters degree from Colorado State University (1974) with a thesis was entitled "The Volga German Life Cycle: An Ethnographic Reconstruction." His Ph.D. is from Indiana University (1986). During his 34-year teaching career at North Dakota State University, he received a number of awards and honors. These included the North Dakota Governor‘s Award for the Arts (2001), the North Dakota Humanities Council ―Distinguished Service Award (2001), and the NDSU College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences ―Outstanding Teacher Award (2003).
In October 1976, Tim married Rosalinda Appelhans in Denver, Colorado. Rosalinda, also the descendant of German-Russian immigrants, shares Tim's deep interest in German-Russian history and culture. Rosalinda is a folklorist and scholar in her own right. Her master‘s thesis at NDSU focused on ethnic women‘s folklore and family life (1992). The Kloberdanzes are the parents of two sons, Michael Josiah, born in 1978, and Matthew Aaron, born in 1980.
In May 2010, Dr. Kloberdanz retired from teaching at NDSU.
