Juergen Kempff, Spanish language curriculum director, passed away Oct. 17 after a long battle with cancer. Kempff obtained his doctorate in Hispanic linguistics from UC Santa Barbara in 1989 and joined UCI's Department of Spanish & Portuguese in 1993. In addition to directing the Spanish language program, he regularly taught Hispanic linguistics at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Although Kempff was a native German speaker, his heart was in Spain, where he traveled frequently; its language and culture informed his research and teaching. Kempff received several awards for instructional excellence and published works on linguistics and language acquisition. He is survived by his wife, Lois, and three children, Daniel, Marcus and Nicole. The School of Humanities will miss his gentleness and friendship.   More »