Ken Joseph, associate director of the College Park Scholars Media, Self and Society program, died Thursday evening at Washington Adventist Hospital. He was 40 years old.
"K-Jo," as he was known to many, spent a decade with the Scholars program and is remembered by students and coworkers alike as a funny, deeply caring man who always put students' concerns first.
"He was like an artist in the attention he paid to students," said Mike Colson, who worked side by side with Joseph as the Scholars associate director for admissions and registration. "He built strong bonds just by being there. He'd make the time to listen to their concerns."
Joseph was hospitalized Jan. 31 for undisclosed reasons and was released Wednesday. He returned to work in Cumberland Hall the following day, when he lost consciousness and was transported to the hospital.
"He touched the lives of so many. They could sense how interested he was in them and how interested he was in their lives," said Kalyani Chadha, a journalism professor who worked with Joseph as director of the Media, Self and Society program. "He could relate to them, and they could relate to him."
Part of a military family, Joseph was born in 1968 and moved frequently, spending several years in Taiwan during grade school. He came to Maryland for his high school years and attended high school in Silver Spring.
He graduated from Penn State University in 1991 with bachelor's degrees in journalism and political science. He worked with a book-publishing company for several years and came to the university in 1998 to study public relations at the College of Journalism. He had not yet completed his degree.
The College Park Scholars program hired him as a program assistant in admissions in 1999. Joseph was made assistant director of the Media, Self and Society program in 2001. By 2004, he was serving a dual role as the Scholars admissions coordinator. Scholars Executive Director Greig Stewart said Joseph was interested in students from the very beginning.
"He probably knew something about every student that came through Scholars since 1999," Stewart said.
Joseph's co-workers and students recall his signature e-mails he sent out to current and former students. He always took time crafting them to make them funny, Colson said.
"He was always checking up on his students... He was always doing favors for people and never asked for anything in return." said Kalani Hillman, a sophomore psychology major who credits Joseph with helping her get an advertising internship in Bethesda.
He would spend his summers studying student photos on attendance sheets, Stewart said, so he would be able to greet them by name when they arrived.
"He felt that was important," Stewart said. "He didn't do it to amaze anyone. He didn't do it to impress the students or impress the parents. He did it to make the students feel welcome."
Courtney Pomeroy, a senior journalism major and staff writer for The Diamondback, remembers meeting Joseph on her first day in College Park four years ago.
"Before I had met a single soul, he came up and said hello and knew my name," she said. "It was then that I really felt I could make College Park my home."
Pomeroy is the co-editor in chief of Unwind! Magazine, the Media Scholars monthly magazine for which Joseph was the faculty advisor.
"He was always there, offering to make copies or order pizza," said Pomeroy. "He had the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. Not just in College Park, but anywhere."
The next issue of Unwind! Magazine will be dedicated to Joseph and will include a full page of anecdotes and photographs.
Joseph is survived by his mother of Knoxville, Tenn., two brothers, Kevin Joseph of Baltimore and Bernard Joseph of the Washington area, and one sister, Kimberly Joseph of Chicago.
Information regarding a funeral has not yet been released, but Stewart said the Scholars program may organize an on-campus memorial, pending approval of the Joseph family.
On the seventh floor of Cumberland Hall, where many of his students live, "In Memory of Ken Joseph" posters on the walls are full of messages to him. One anonymous note sums them up:
"You were kind, thoughtful, and your sense of humor was one of a kind. Your e-mails never failed to make me smile. I am grateful for the short time I spent with you. Thanks."
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