Retired German Professor Werner Hoffmeister died last Thursday at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Hoffmeister's death came after he collapsed on the tennis courts outside Alumni Gym, according to Senior Associate Dean of the College Dan Nelson.
In 1977, the College's German department welcomed the man who was, according to German Studies Chair Susanne Zantop, "one of the most dedicated and considerate teachers" the department has seen.
"He had the ability to draw students out; get them to express themselves," Zantop said.
Hoffmeister taught at all levels during his 19-year career at the College, from entry-level classes to advanced seminars, as well as in Language Study Abroad and Foreign Study Programs. He served as chair of the department from 1989 to 1993.
Ki Pyung Choi '98, who had Hoffmeister as a substitute teacher in her German 1 class, remembered him as "a wonderful teacher."
"He was intent on making us, his class, as enthusiastic about German as he was," she said.
As well as contributing to the education of students, Hoffmeister had an enormous impact on the administrative aspects of the German department, including his work as the departmental librarian. This job came naturally for him, Zantop said. "He was one of the most well-read professors anywhere."
Although Hoffmeister retired from his position in 1996, Zantop said the former professor continued to contribute to the Department, advising and helping his colleagues, as well as students.
Hoffmeister was born in 1931 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and came to the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1954 to study at Brown University.
He received an M.A. in English from Brown in 1958, and a Ph.D. in German in 1962. After teaching at Connecticut College for two years, Hoffmeister returned to Brown in 1962.
