Longtime SUNY Oswego professor George H. Koenig passed away on Dec. 30. George joined the SUNY Oswego family in 1968, primarily teaching German in what is now the modern languages and literatures department, until retiring in 2000. In the academic realm, he was well-known for outstanding teaching abilities and interest in student success, earning the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1977. George took pride in ensuring students made the most of their educational experiences and supported their accomplishments. George encouraged and supported countless students in plans to study abroad, and enjoyed how that greatly expanded their horizons and worldview. What follows is one alumnus' remembrance shared with George's family -- wife, Heike; daughter, Monica Hahn; son, Phillip Koenig; brother, Henry Koenig; son-in-law, Sam McKenna; and grandchildren, Lily Hahn, Precious Hahn, Ian McKenna and Colin McKenna.
By Matt Weiller '84, Executive Director of the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. State Department
At the end of 9th grade, I squeaked by on the Italian Regents with a 70. After barely passing, I vowed never to learn another foreign language. Jumping ahead to 12th grade, I applied for and received a Rotary Club Youth Exchange scholarship and assigned to Sweden. Applying to colleges that same year, I was seemingly less lucky, having been rejected from the three, high-powered private colleges to which I applied. The only place that accepted me was a (to me) almost unknown State school called Oswego somewhere way upstate, which had been recommended to me in passing by a guidance counselor. I somewhat reluctantly accepted my post secondary fate. In the meantime, I deferred my admission and had a gap year as an exchange student in Sweden. To my surprise, I learned the language fairly well, and in the process, discovered that language learning was fun, useful and the key to cross-cultural communication. I entered my freshman year at the end of the summer of 1980. I had declared myself an elementary education major, but was determined to continue my language studies. German was the closest language to Swedish offered by Oswego, thus I signed up for German 101 with Professor George Koenig. It was a fateful decision, which led me to switch from elementary education to a German major, later adding a Russian minor, and propelling me towards a career as a United States Diplomat with the U.S. Department of State. None of this would have happened without George Koenig. This upbeat, engaging, and somewhat gangly man, who carried his teaching materials around in an LL Bean boat tote was a gifted teacher and a wonderful person. On his feet for the entirety of every class, George engaged us as a group (I can still sing the German songs he taught us in class), and directly as individuals. You could say his classes were fun, but they were more than that. Most classes fall into two catagories—long and uninteresting or short and engaging. George’s language classes were the only ones which seemed both long and engaging. Such was his mastery in the classroom. Yet his engagement went far beyond the classroom. An enthusiastic mentor for the German Club, he organized and hosted a range of events. The annual German Club Christmas party at Fallbrook was always lovely, giving us the impression of being somewhere deep in the German woods while we ate and drank seasonal specialties and sang German Christmas carols (more songs I can still sing in German!). Each winter, George and his wife, Heike, would have a large group to their house on the outskirts of Oswego for a Cross-Country ski party, complete with homemade soup and home-baked bread. Sticking with a winner, I did all of my beginning- and intermediate-level courses with George. Even as I moved on to German literature courses with other professors, George remained a mentor and increasingly, a friend. I spent my final semester senior year on a SUNY program at the University of Wuerzburg [West] Germany, well-prepared to maintain and improve my language skills, in large part thanks to George. I subsequently received a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Georgetown University, where my German skills landed me an assistantship with a visiting German professor and a post-Master’s DAAD fellowship (roughly the German government equivalent of a Fulbright grant) for a year of study at the University of Bonn. I entered the Civil Service in 1988 at the U.S. Information Agency (now part of the U.S. Department of State), and—again, thanks in large part George for my solid foundation in German—received what turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity running the U.S Government’s first and last book exhibit in East Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1991, I entered the Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, beginning a 31-year career as a U.S. Diplomat, with postings in Washington, Armenia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, Mali, Croatia, South Africa, and, of course, Germany, where I served as the Ambassador’s special assistant. Throughout my career, I have kept in close touch with George and his family, exchanging letters, e-mails, phone calls, and all-too-infrequent visits. Throughout our friendship, he was always too modest and unassuming to take credit for helping launch me on a successful life and career. By my count, I have studied (in some form) 12 languages and been taught by 30 different language teachers. The latter were always judged against the gold standard, Dr. George Koenig. None of them were as good, and none came close to having the sort of positive impact on my life as George. George, I trust you are enthusiastically drilling the angels on their German verb conjugations, teaching them to sing “Bauer, Spann den Wagen An,” and otherwise sharing the classroom joy you spread here on earth.