Robert Koehl

Bob Koehl joined the faculty of UW- Madison Department of history in 1964 and served as full faculty until he retired in 1997. His life in Madison reached far beyond the university and is beloved by many. He was an avid historical site visitor, music collector, stamp collector and train and trolley supporter.  He was awarded upon retirement professor Emeritus status by Wisconsin in 1997 and continued to supervise students for years. Bob also was a founder of the Department of Educational Policy Studies and specialized in comparative and international education. Many of his students are world leads in international education and are still close to Bob.  

Bob Koehl is a graduate of Harvard College and University, BA , MA and PhD as well as member Phi Beta Kappa. Bob’s studies were interrupted by World War II where he served in European theater occupied by Germany and Axis. Bob was in US Army Intelligence in the war where his knowledge of language was useful as an interrogator. Bob wrote about European history and specialized in NSDAP Nazis and fascism. His World War II course was extremely popular all the years he offered it. He went on to teach at MIT in Boston, University of Nebraska and UW- Madison.

You can read his full obituary here.