The world lost a great educator: Diether H. Haenicke passed away on Sunday
When I was working at the Opinion Editor at Western Michigan University, I wrote a few articles that made me very proud. But nothing made me more proud than when I would get a personal note from Dieter Haenicke, commenting on how much he appreciated the work I put forth on a particular article he felt would benefit the student body. When I wrote something that made him laugh, he would write and tell me that, too.
I had the personal fortune of taking a refresher course in German from Professor Haenicke. He had a great presence in classes where he taught, and he was one of those few educators who you could tell really cared about actually imparting knowledge to others. There are a few teachers over the years I have patterned my own style on, and he was definitely at the top of that list.
He had a great sense of humor. He was never consumed by his own importance. He served as WMU's president from 1985 to 1998, and during 2006 he served as the interim president while they were searching for a new leader. And even though he was an emeritus professor and their former president, he continued teaching, continued commenting on issues that were important to him concerning the university, and you could actually see him wandering the campus because education was not just a job to him, or something you turned off when you punched the clock.
According to an alumni email I received, I was informed he passed away on Sunday from complications from a head injury he received during a heart attack in December.
He will be missed by many who knew him and many more who never got that chance.
Stumble It!
I had the personal fortune of taking a refresher course in German from Professor Haenicke. He had a great presence in classes where he taught, and he was one of those few educators who you could tell really cared about actually imparting knowledge to others. There are a few teachers over the years I have patterned my own style on, and he was definitely at the top of that list.
He had a great sense of humor. He was never consumed by his own importance. He served as WMU's president from 1985 to 1998, and during 2006 he served as the interim president while they were searching for a new leader. And even though he was an emeritus professor and their former president, he continued teaching, continued commenting on issues that were important to him concerning the university, and you could actually see him wandering the campus because education was not just a job to him, or something you turned off when you punched the clock.
According to an alumni email I received, I was informed he passed away on Sunday from complications from a head injury he received during a heart attack in December.
He will be missed by many who knew him and many more who never got that chance.
Labels: Education
Stumble It!
posted by Duane @ 7:15 AM
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