Neal E. Lambert


Neal Elwood Lambert is an American scholar, emeritus professor of English and American Studies at Brigham Young University. His most notable work is A Believing People: Literature of Latter-day Saints, an anthology co-edited with Richard Cracroft.

Life

Neal Lambert was born in Fillmore, Utah to Elwood Delyle Lambert and his wife the former Libbie Utley.
Lambert earned a bachelor's degree and a Ph.D., the later in American Studies, both from the University of Utah. His doctoral dissertation was on the western writing of Owen Wister.
Lambert began his career as a professor at what is now Weber State University. He joined the BYU faculty in 1966.
For a time Lambert served as the chair of the BYU Faculty Advisory Council, which fulfills some of the roles faculty senates serve at other universities. He also in the early 1970s served as the faculty advisor to the BYU bookstore, working to increase the purchasing of scholarly works by the bookstore and the use of the bookstore by the faculty.
Lambert also served as the chair of BYU's American Studies Program, chair of the BYU English Department and Associate Academic Vice President for graduate studies and research from 1982-1985. From 1987 until 1990 Lambert was president of the North Carolina Raleigh Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1991 Lambert became department chair of the BYU English Department. During his tenure BYU faced debates over the extent of dissent allowed by faculty from LDS teachings, many of white focused on members of the English Department. Lambert was succeeded as department chair by C. Jay Fox in 1995.
Lambert married the former Lucille Anne "Anne" Johnson.
Lambert is a Latter-day Saint.

Publications

Lambert also was involved in editing and republishing the works of Western fiction by such authors as Edward Abbey.