Profiles
Peter '59 and Katharina Diepold '89
Goettingen, Germany
In the late 1950s, Peter Diepold ’59 enjoyed exploring the Castle, listening to Bach records in the library, and participating in a weekly jazz jam session with friends. Three decades later, his daughter Katharina ’89 played in the Brandeis orchestra as a concert master, performed as a soloist in concerts, and studied with the Lydian String Quartet.
The Wien International Scholarship Program gave both father and daughter the opportunity to study in the United States and pursue an education at Brandeis. The Diepolds, the first two-generation Wien Scholars in the history of the program, believe their experiences at Brandeis shaped them as people.
At the 30th anniversary celebration of the Wien program in 1988, Peter spoke eloquently about his stay at Brandeis and thanked those who allowed him to attend the University.
“Coming from a country that had been at war with your country, I had applied for admission to a University founded by people that my own people had tried to extinguish in a Holocaust a little more than a decade before,” he said. “I do not know who was responsible for admitting me and offering me a Wien scholarship, but he must have been a strong believer in the ideals of the University, and he must have had a great deal of courage.”
After graduate school, Peter studied theology in Israel, Austria, and Germany, and in 1968 was ordained as a Lutheran minister. From 1975 through ’93, he was an economics professor at Georg-August-University in Gottingen, Germany. He then spent eight years as a professor of computer science at Humboldt University in Berlin, where he researched the use of computers in education. Diepold established a central German web server for educational information and materials.
Katharina, Peter’s oldest daughter, followed in her father’s footsteps and attended Brandeis as a Wien Scholar beginning in 1986. She studied biochemistry, but also immersed herself in the campus music scene. She developed a close relationship with members of the Lydian String Quartet, particularly professor Judy Eissenberg.
“Coming to Brandeis as a Wien Scholar meant meeting students from all over the world and being part of a community within the Brandeis community,” Katharina said.
The Diepolds are proud of their status as the first two-generation Wien Scholars. “Who knows, maybe one day one of my children will be a third-generation Wien Scholar?” Katharina said.
