Students, colleagues remember psychology prof

Students and colleagues who worked with Professor Christoph Wiedenmayer say they lost a quick-witted, devoted instructor.

Wiedenmayer, who died of a heart attack Monday, was an associate professor of clinical neurobiology in psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center. He also taught in Columbia’s psychology department.

Ruthy Sher, CC ’12, said that Wiedenmayer inspired her to major in neuroscience. “The truth is, being a student in his class made me realize that what he was teaching was really important. After the class I thought, ‘I want to do what he’s doing,’” Sher said.

Alex Ralph, CC ’12, said she decided to take the class after reading impressive CULPA reviews on Wiedenmayer. Ralph called Wiedenmayer a “fascinating individual” who had been “a really wonderful teacher because he was very reasonable—he had a smart sense of humor that really made his lectures enjoyable. I would wait for those little moments.”

“He was the best professor I’ve ever had,” Sher said. “He was amazing. He was just very organized, very concise. You could tell that he really cared about the students’ understanding the material, and you could tell he was really passionate about what he was teaching.”

Besides taking an active interest in each student’s experience of his class, Wiedenmayer had a unique approach to teaching the material, according to Sher. She said that the material was very complex and involved, “but he didn’t dumb it down—he made it relatable.”

“He wanted me to enjoy what he was teaching just as much as he did,” Sher said. “You just got that aura from him that he was a nice guy who cared about his students.”
Psychology lecturer Patricia Lindemann echoed these sentiments. “I have heard from everyone who I’ve spoken to that he was a good and kind man as well as an incredibly dedicated teacher,” she said.

Kate Nautiyal, a teaching assistant for Wiedenmayer’s Mind, Brain, and Behavior course, called Wiedenmayer “an excellent and dedicated teacher.” Nautiyal emphasized Wiedenmayer’s devotion to helping students through the trials of the material. “He cared about his students and their learning of neuroscience,” she said. “He was concerned about both the anxieties and curiosities of students.”

Psychology department chair Norma Graham notified students of Wiedenmayer’s death in an email Monday afternoon. She noted that counseling services would be available at the next class session.

“In our department he has been teaching for some years now and we will miss him very much,” Graham said in an email.

elizabeth.scott@columbiaspectator.com