We lost a good one...

Diether Haenicke
1935-2009




http://www.wwmt.com/video/index.php?bcpid=1111405973&bclid=1137706675&bctid=14197598001

This is a clip of my Dean talking about the late great Diether Haenicke, former WMU president who passed away recently. They are holding a memorial service for him on campus today.

Diether was in his 70's, and had been in poor health for some time. His original retirement from WMU was due in part to heart problems. He agreed graciously to interim when his predecessors failed to live up to his high standards. After the current president, Dr. John Dunn, was brought in, Diether remained close giving lectures and teaching. It was during his last lecture that he had a heart attack, causing him to fall and hit his head. He never fully recovered from his injury.

As Dean Reish points out, Diether left his imprint all over campus. He was a fierce advocate of the arts, library, and humanities (particularly foreign relations given he was German). There are several buildings and programs that exist as a direct result of his work, and one is named after him.

I personally had the pleasure of meeting Deither a couple of times here at the library. He called me "an important man to know" given that I was part of his IT support team. Although he was small in stature, he was a giant among his peers. He wrote a weekly editorial for the Kalamazoo Gazette, and was published in several other media.

Diether was president when I first became a student at Western. He retired before I graduated, and there was a noticeable absence of leadership and direction on campus. Elson Floyd, Diether's successor, left WMU for what he considered a better opportunity, and next in line president Judy Bailey was fired for poor performance (there were rumors of inappropriate actions with young co-eds by her husband, who also had a drinking problem. He frequently was given rides home from various drinking establishments by WMU police).

When I joined the staff here under Bailey, things were very lax. Enrollment was down. Moral was low. We were infighting amongst the staff and faculty. When Baily was fired, Diether came back as interim president while we searched for, and ultimately found our new president in Dr. Dunn.

Immediately there was a renewed spirit when Diether arrived. He put out policies, initiated a new add campaign for recruiting, gave the staff a much needed raise (albeit a small one), and righted the ship. Now enrollment is up, moral is high, and we are back on track.

So we owe Dr. Haenicke a deep gratitude for what he did for us. He is gone but not forgotten.

RIP Diether.

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