Dr G Th Jensma (b. 1956) has been appointed extraordinary professor of Frisian Language and Culture, in particular the literary-historical aspects of Frisian, at the Faculty of Humanities of the Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA). The chair has been endowed by the Stichting Fryske Akademy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

Goffe Jensma studied history and philosophy at the University of Groningen. His research was mainly on historical topics related to the university, and on various topics from Frisian history. His awarded study Het rode tasje van Salverda. Burgerlijk bewustzijn en Friese identiteit (1998) is representative for the research area in which he works: the field between history of literature and culture, and social history. Jensma has been university lecturer in Frisian language and culture at the UvA since 2001; he is also scholarly researcher in Frisian Literature (for the period 1500 till 1900) at the KNAW-Fryske Akademy in Leeuwarden. Furthermore, he holds several editorial posts within his field, among which that of president of the editorial board of the Digital Historical Library Friesland wumkes.nl and of the annual report De Vrije Fries>

Prof. Jensma was awarded the Mallinckrodtprijs, a prize awarded once every ten years for the most original theological dissertation defended at a public Dutch university, in 2005 for his dissertation De gemaskerde god. François HaverSchmidt en het Oera Linda-boek (2004).