Robert Kauf Memorial Scholarship for Teaching and Research

Jeanette Kauf-Stern hands out the Robert Kauf Awards

Helga-Kauf Berman established the Robert Kauf Memorial Scholarship Fund in Germanic Studies following the unexpected death of her husband, UIC Professor Robert Kauf, in 1981.

Professor Kauf was an internationally-respected scholar of 20th-century German Literature, with works on Franz Kafka and Georg Kaiser and three years as book review editor of the German Quarterly. Dr. Kauf joined the University of Illinois in 1953 and first taught at the Navy Pier campus. He was an active member of the academic community and a beloved teacher and colleague, serving on the UIC senate and various college and university committees and winning the 1976 Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Kauf family has continued an active interest in, and engagement with, the Department and its scholars.

Annually, the Department hands out monetary awards to graduate students for excellence in teaching and in research.