In Memoriam Kurt R. Jankowsky
Longtime professor of German linguistics, Kurt R. Jankowsky, died October 10, 2024, after a long illness. As teacher, researcher, and administrator, Prof. Jankowsky shaped the German Department where he served as chairman from 1964 to 1979.
Prof. Jankowsky received his PhD (Dr. phil.) at the Universität Münster in 1958 and subsequently taught for four years at the University of Poona (India). After teaching in Poona, Prof. Jankowsky joined the German Department at Georgetown in 1962. His academic and intellectual connection to India never stopped, expressed mostly through his continuing research of the work of Max Müller, the German-born linguist and founder of Indology from Oxford University. In addition, Prof. Jankowsky’s broad research interest included semantic theory, the interrelation of language and thought, syntax, and historical linguistics. This research led to the publication of eight authored and edited books and more than 100 journal articles and book chapters.
In addition to this research, Prof. Jankowsky was instrumental in establishing Georgetown’s Summer Program in Salzburg (Austria) and then moving the program to the re-founded Universität Trier where it has thrived since 1972. He was also the organizer of the Father Bunn, S.J., Memorial Lecture Series on German-American Relations, established in 1972, which brought distinguished representatives of public life from Germany and beyond to the Hilltop for more than two decades.
Prof. Kurt Jankowsky (third from left) with German Department colleagues in the mid-1990s
Prof. Jankowsky will be remembered by many of the students who started their studies of German at Georgetown because he insisted on teaching first year German courses throughout his time in the Department. His devotion to teaching was matched by his mentoring of undergraduate students who always participated in his research and organizational activities. He also mentored 20 PhD students.
Beyond the Hilltop, Prof. Jankowsky taught linguistic courses in Tokyo and participated in international conferences in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He was appointed Honorary President of the English Philological Society of Japan, Tokyo, and elected Fellow of the RSA, London.
Prof. Jankowsky is survived by his wife Ellen and their two sons, Andreas and Fabian.