The life of Christopher James Bishop
Andrew Dunn, Assistant University Editor, Daily Tar Heel
April 18, 2007
The following is an article written by Andrew Dunn, the assistant university editor of the Daily Tar Heel at UNC.
Christopher James Bishop, known as Jamie in his five years at UNC, was killed Monday in the tragedy that left 33 dead on the campus of Virginia Tech. He was 35.
Bishop worked as an academic technology liaison at UNC from 2000 until 2005 with the Office of Arts & Sciences Information Services. He also taught an intermediate German course in spring 2004.
He left UNC to become an adjunct instructor of German and a technology trainer with the Faculty Development Institute at Virginia Tech.
He was leading a class in introductory German at about 9:50 a.m. Monday when the gunman aimed at his head and fired, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
"Jamie's thoughtfulness, energy and laughter made him a wonderful peer and friend to many," his former co-workers said in a collective statement. "His legacy continues to shape the education of thousands of students to this day."
Bishop first was hired at UNC as a temporary employee in 2000, his former supervisor, Jason Li, said.
Bishop later was hired as a full-time employee, working with instructors in the Asian studies, German, linguistics, romance languages, comparative literature and Slavic languages departments and providing one-on-one training in computer applications.
"He was such a motivated, dedicated employee," Li said.
Charlie Green, associate vice chancellor for teaching and learning at Information Technology Services, looked back fondly on his time working with Bishop.
"He was a creative thinker," Green said. "He was someone who saw technology as a creative tool."
One innovation of Bishop's was a way to record students' language practice through their laptops. Previously, students would have to tape record their practice and physically bring the tape to their instructor, Green said.
Bishop crafted a software package to record and send the practice digitally, which is of much higher quality and much more efficient.
But Bishop's value was more than just in his work.
"He cared about people," Green said. "He would spend a lot of time making sure people he worked with had everything they needed."
Green said this aspect of his personality is reflected in the fact that Bishop was nominated for an Information Technology award "designed to reward versatility and the willingness to go beyond the call of duty" each year he was at UNC.
Bishop's wife, Stefanie Hofer, earned her Ph.D. in Germanic languages from UNC and later taught with Bishop in the German program at Tech.
Bishop was a Fulbright scholar at Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, and lived in Heidelberg from 1995 to 1996.
He earned his bachelor's and master's in German at the University of Georgia.
Bishop was also a prolific artist. He had posted an extensive gallery of photos, multimedia projects, graphic designs for book covers and computer-generated images on his Web site www.memory39.com.
"He was a member of our family," Green said. "He will be deeply missed."