![Andrew Siebengartner
'03 excelled in the John Dewey Honors program and hopes to share his love of classical languages with the next generation of students and scholars.
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Theresia Hoeck, Hank Schaefer, and
Wolfgang Mieder
7.18.06 SCHAEFER ENDOWMENT: A FITTING TRIBUTE
German was a first language for Hank Schaefer, who grew up near New York City the son of German immigrant parents. "My first English lesson was the day I started kindergarten in 1941," he says. "It was a necessity."
Schaefer's parents had come to the United States seeking economic opportunity in the depths of the Great Depression, never intending to stay. But World War II changed that, and their son grew up a first-generation American. He never lost sight of his German heritage, however. Decades later, after a career in finance with IBM in Essex Junction, Vermont, he began taking German classes as a nontraditional-age student at UVM. "I spoke some German, but I couldn't read or write it very well," he says.
Schaefer, who earned his degrees at New York University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, says he's been very impressed with his experience at UVM and everyone he's met in the Department of German and Russian. So when he began to think about a way to honor the memory of his parents, he decided that providing support for the department's top priorities would make for a fitting tribute. Schaefer shared his thoughts with his teacher, senior lecturer Theresia Hoeck, who put him in touch with the chair, Professor Wolfgang Mieder. Shortly thereafter came his $250,000 commitment establishing the Henry and Rosa Maria Schaefer Endowment Fund "to honor the memory of my parents and to promote the study of German language, culture, and literature at the University of Vermont."
"This was almost like lightning had struck us," says Mieder of the department's reaction to the gift. "It's a dream come true." Mieder says the Schaefer Endowment can be used in any number of ways, but "the most exciting part is that it will enhance our ability to provide scholarships for students to study abroad in one of the German-speaking countries." When the endowment is fully funded over the next several years, Mieder says, it will roughly double the department's capacity to offer that kind of support to students. Other possible uses of the funds include student attendance at German cultural events; support for student research projects; the purchase of instructional materials; student travel to professional conferences; and support for faculty research, publications, and other scholarly activities.
In addition to enriching the UVM experience for individual students, Mieder points out, by showcasing the extraordinary opportunities available to students in the Department of German and Russian, scholarships and research grants can help to recruit excellent students into the University and the department. "It helps us to be able to demonstrate that there are alumni and friends who provide this kind of support to a small but excellent program like ours," he says.
Senior lecturer Theresia Hoeck says Schaefer's "wonderful gift" will ensure that generation after generation of UVM students can experience the transforming impact of study abroad and immersion in a culture other than their own. Another of Schaefer's gifts, she says, is the simple fact of his presence in the classroom. "It is a very positive experience for students to learn along with someone outside their own age group," she says. "Having Hank in class sends a wonderful message that learning never ends."