Romance Lang. Dept. mourns cherished prof

The University community is mourning the loss of one of its most prominent Romance Language professors this week following the death of Charles Bernheimer. Bernheimer, 55, passed away in his wife's home in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday after a bout with pancreatic cancer that began in November. Funeral services were held in California, but the University will hold its own memorial service for Bernheimer in March. The Romance Languages graduate division will also establish a comparative literature essay contest in Bernheimer's name. Although he was diagnosed with cancer in the fall, many of his colleagues said Bernheimer continued to "fight for life" by teaching until he was too sick to return. He taught an undergraduate Comparative Literature class in the fall, and was teaching an English graduate seminar on "Decadent Literature" that was canceled due to his illness. Best known for his contributions to the field of 19th century French and European literature, Bernheimer taught French and Comparative Literature to both undergraduates and graduates at the University since the fall of 1987. Additionally, Bernheimer chaired the Comparative Literature department for several years in the 1980s. Bernheimer wrote or edited five books -- including Comparative Literature in the Age of Multiculturalism, Figures of Ill Repute and his unfinished Theorizing Decadence, which will be finished posthumously -- as well as numerous scholarly articles. Bernheimer's work and dedication "shaped the vision" of many graduate programs at the University, according to Comparative Literature Chairperson Lilliane Weissberg. Bernheimer maintained an intense academic life alongside a long-distance relationship with his wife, Olga Matich, a professor of Russian Literature and Culture at the University of California at Berkeley. The two met while Bernheimer was on sabbatical at Berkeley. "We shared academic interests as well as a love for life," Matich said. "We even realized we had spent part of our early childhood at the same lake in Germany. It was an unusual find that characterized our relationship." Many of Bernheimer's students said they will remember Bernheimer for both his intellect and his friendship. Second-year French graduate student Rachel Mesch transferred to Penn from Columbia University largely to be able to study under Bernheimer. "I was honored to learn from such an esteemed scholar," she said. "His classes were very engaging -- everything I wanted graduate school to be but so often wasn't." Although Mesch was only able to take one of Bernheimer's classes, she said it was one of best she has ever had. Mesch had planned to prepare her dissertation under Bernheimer. Other students praised his ability to transcend the classroom walls as a professor. "Charlie Bernheimer was a wonderful scholar," second-year Romance Languages graduate student Laura Spagnoli said. "He was also a good storyteller, always willing to share his own experiences with students in order to enlighten as well as amuse." Known as "Charlie" to his colleagues and students, Bernheimer was also admired by many faculty members. "What made Charlie great was on the one hand he was a person who was very intellectually committed, and on the other hand he was very fun-loving," said Romance Languages Professor Gerald Price, a friend of Bernheimer's for many years. Price added that Bernheimer loved to "have all sorts of fun," including dancing, playing squash and "just joking and laughing." Weissberg agreed that Bernheimer's "incredible love for life" colored his personality. "He was stoic in his fight against cancer," she said. "He fought against it with dignity."

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