It is with deep sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Zachary John Kramer, a doctoral student at the Institute of Political Studies FSV UK. In his research, Zack focused on the political economy of the post-Soviet space and Central and Eastern Europe. In his dissertation, he focused on Ukraine’s changing foreign trade in connection with relations with Russia. Last year, he successfully passed the state doctoral examination and worked on completing his dissertation. Zack also worked at the IPS Centre of Doctoral Studies. He taught the Master’s course Approaches to Modern Conflict, for which he received the Golden Course award. He worked as a researcher at the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI), and was a holder of a doctoral scholarship under the PSSI-funded Oldřich Černý Scholarship project. We believe that if you had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with Zack, you appreciated his helpfulness, passion, and determination with which he approached his research, teaching, and other tasks. He was a nice and helpful colleague and we will miss him.
Zack’s family appreciates the University’s support through this difficult time for them and they sincerely hope that a little part of Zack and his commitment to positive international relations will remain with every student and associate that he had the fortune to interact with. Zack loved his time here in Prague and developed a deep appreciation of Czech culture.If you have a memory of Zack that you wish to share with his family, please, add it to this condolence book.
Zack, it was a real joy to have a Ph.D. student who was an enthusiastic researcher and a nice, thoughtful, and stubborn person at the same time. I enjoyed our debates on your dissertation, I am so sorry I won’t see it finished. You will be badly missed. My thoughts are with your wonderful and brave family.
Dr. Kramer,
I am deeply saddened by your passing and sincerely send my condolences to your family. You were an amazing professor and truly it was a joy to take your class. You always made us all feel so comfortable sharing our opinions and I always felt really heard. You were there to help with any questions or concerns I had. Thank you for that.
You will be missed.
Rest in peace.
Zack, even though we only met for academic purposes, your point of view was always a light in our conversations that often we filled with bold sarcasm and laughter. It came as a shocking surprise reading about your departure because I was counting on seeing you soon. Thank you for our shared moments and my condolences to all those who had the blessing of knowing you.
Zack Kramer belonged to one of the most talented and diligent Ph.D. students that the Department of International Relations had in the recent years. As the Ph.D. students start their studies with taking a Ph.D. seminar on methods, I had a chance to meet with Zack there. I remember his interest in the topic and the relevant comments that he was making at this seminar. Later, Zack helped the Department with teaching two courses on the issues that were not covered: the theories of conflicts, and the economic dimension of great power competition. As soon as the first of the courses took place for the first time, it achieved a great evaluation by the students. This proves that Zack was able to plan and execute things excellently. We were looking forward to reading Zack’s dissertation on a very topical issue of Ukraine’s trade relations with Russia. I would like to express my sincere condolences to Zack’s family. It was a great honor for us to have Zack as a Ph.D. student.
I came to know Zach through his doctoral entrance exam, phd courses in which I taught him and as a committee member during his doctoral exam. For me, Zach represented a rare combination of a smart, thoughtful and very polite young man who took his education very seriously. He was serious in his area of research, and I liked his creativity and wit. My thoughts are with his family.
I will always be grateful for having had the opportunity to get to know Zack. As his students, we were always astonished about how much he knew about every conflict, minority and happening in the world. I truly appreciate how despite knowing so much, he met us where we were, encouraging us in our studies, remaining humble, funny and approachable. I was always looking forward to his seminars in which he challenged and inspired us with his knowledge as well as his character. He was my favorite professor and I will miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.
Zack, I can proudly say that you were my very close friend and I still cannot believe that you are not with us anymore. We spent a lot of time together having beer and fun, telling jokes, discussing politics, and sharing our plans for the future. I loved your company and your sense of humour. You were one of the kindest, most honest, and open-minded people I’ve ever met. It is my great honour and pleasure I could have you as a friend. So many beautiful memories will stay with me forever. I will miss you, man. A lot. My deepest condolences to your lovely family.
I was lucky enough to meet Zack through our Ph.D. programme and have the best memories of collaborating with him. He was always so motivated, so helpful, so friendly. I am very sorry for this loss which will be felt by many. My deepest condolences to Zack’s family.
Zack was my colleague, schoolmate but, most importantly, truly a good friend to me. He was always helpful and invaluable support during my studies. I enjoyed our small talks at work, and I appreciated that we could continue our discussions in a pub over a beer. We shared our troubles, and Zack was the one who looked on the bright side of things, which was very calming. Zack, I miss you, and my thoughts are with your family and Polina that I met, unfortunately only briefly, but even this short moment made me realize how amazing and brave they are.
Dear Zack, I knew you as a teacher in our programme and always appreciated your enthusiastic and accommodating attitude. I heard praises about your classes from so many of our students. As the academic coordinator, I meet with students to discuss their schedules and study plans, and your courses were often mentioned as the best they had that semester. You have impacted their lives and will be deeply missed. Our thoughts are with your family.
I had the pleasure to get to know Zack briefly in his Approaches to Modern Conflicts course. He was always a joy to work with and had a clear passion for the subjects he was interested in. He organized the course well and chose very interesting and palatable readings. I distinctly remember his enthusiasm about his work and willingness to help students. As a fellow American living abroad, we spoke about American football. After class one day, I learned that he came from Ohio and was a devoted fan of the Cleveland Browns. I express my condolences to his family and loved ones. It was an honor to know Zack and I will use him as inspiration in my continued studies. My thoughts and with his loved ones at this time.
I had the pleasure to take the course Approaches to Modern conflicts with Zack; not only was it one of the most insightful and interesting courses in the program, but also the way Zack approached us and the course was very unique- he did his best to help us at every turn and treat us as friends rather than students. One of the most humble, genuine, helpful, and well rounded professors I’ve met despite the young age.
Thanks a lot for all the help and the constant positive energy Zack.
Deepest condolences to your family, the good die young indeed… we will miss you a lot!
I used to think one leaves this world when he/she has finished his/her soul mission. I no longer think that. Passing of Zack has deeply touched me and left me in shock and disbelief. Zack had been in the process of succesfully passing his PhD and had recently started teaching and he was a truly great lecturer! As one of his students, I witnessed Zack’s caring attitude (I appreciated his kind approach when he assured me no reason to feel stressed about the standard weekly tests), I much enjoyed his lectures full of discussion. He was an attentive, caring lecturer, who listened to what students had to say. I still find it hard to believe he is no longer here! Dear Zack, I hope you are resting in peace now. I loved and appreciated having you as my tutor and I am truly sorry you have left this world in this lifetime so early. RIP, Katerina
Zack and I started our Ph.D. studies in the same year. From the beginning, he struck me as someone very passionate about his research. I admired his diligence and attention to detail. When most students couldn’t keep up with the readings for a course or an exam, Zack was already prepared well ahead of us. It came naturally to him. When he led our doctoral research group, he was careful not to leave the younger students behind and offered detailed feedback on their papers. He helped me with my first publication too. After the class, we would often go to a pub and continue discussing what we’ve learned (among other things). Zack was a great listener, and I very much enjoyed the conversations we had. Once, he shared a story about how he first left Ohio to travel Europe and how fascinated he was by the culture and the starkly different image some of the eastern countries have in the US. For some reason, that story stuck with me. It seemed like an inspiring and profoundly life-changing moment. Thank you for everything, Zack. My thoughts are with your family.
I had the pleasure of getting to know Zack in his Approaches to Modern Conflict course last semester. Zack was always incredibly kind to his students & was always willing to make time for us after class. He was a wonderful person, and he will be missed dearly by all who knew him.
Dear Zack, I was shocked by hearing that you departed this world so early. We had only a brief opportunity to meet, but after hearing so much about you – from students who appreciated your teaching and colleagues who always enjoyed your company and constructive thoughts – I always wanted to know you better. I am deeply saddened it will never happen. I hope you are in a better place now. My thoughts are with your family and beloved ones.
I had the pleasure of meeting Zack several times after he had contacted me with questions on the application of quantitative methods in his field of research. I was really surprised by how bright and open-minded he was and by how quickly he managed to switch between the economic/econometric perspective and IR perspective. I hoped that we would have a chance to collaborate on similar interdisciplinary applications in future too. I was really shocked and deeply moved when I was informed about his demise. It is a real loss for both the university and the PSSI.
I only took one class with Dr. Kramer, but as my friends and classmates could testify, I would never shut up about it, and always mentioned it as an example of the perfect course to pick in the IR programme. It was truly a place that supported discussion in engaging and often even entertaining ways, and it helped me understand and learn like no other course before. At the end of the course, I received unexpectedly structured, detailed, and elaborate feedback, that really made me believe the teacher not only read my seminar work but also tried to get behind its logic and help me build from my own arguments. I wrote an email to Dr. Kramer thanking him for his extraordinary attitude, but as I look through my inbox now, I realized that I never actually sent it. I hope I can make up for that to some extent at least in this way.
Dr. Kramer, you will be missed by many of your students, I am sure.
Dear Zack, as your fellow-yearmate I can hardly speak of your research and teaching skills. The evaluation of our teachers and colleagues, however, speaks for itself. Personally, I will always remeber you as a good guy, always in a good mood, with an unforgettable deep voice. It is still difficult for me to believe in what happened.
I am deeply saddened by the news Dr. Kramer unexpectedly passed away. I had a pleasure to meet him in the course Approaches to Modern Conflict. Even though the course was super interesting itself, I would like to emphasize that Dr. Kramer really made an impression of really good person. He was nice to talk to, open-minded and helpful. I would go for a beer with him any day. I really wish he had a great time on this planet, even though he had to leave so early.
I did not know Zack for a long time as we only met in the office few times a week. But whenever I met him, the day got better as he always had a joke to share, very insightfull information or commentary on current events. I always admired the scope of his perception and knowledge which was spiced by a great sense of humor. Tuesday lunches won’t ever be the same.
Zack, you were a valued member of our team at PSSI and we all benefited greatly by your enthusiastic approach to the underdeveloped field of financial and economic warfare, dedication to our mission, common policy goals, and firm belief in the need to protect our freedoms. We will all miss you, as a dear colleague and friend.
My thoughts and prayers go out to your family and loved ones.
I admired Zack´s insight, his sharp mind and the ease how he could formulate intricate thoughts with profound elegance. But it was his friendly, kind nature that I will miss the most. At PSSI we tend to meet at our Tuesday pre-staff meeting lunches – our weekly „work family“ lunch. We rotate baking cakes for this occasion. Zack once contributed with incredibly sweet balls of peanut butter, cream and sugar. There was some brilliance in making them too that resisted the law of physics, because he was able to concentrate a kilo of sugar into mouthful of a ball. It was one of the sweetest things I ever ate and Zack deserves credit for that too. Also that he enlighten me about Ohio, the intricacies of American Football culture, on having potato chips for lunch, the nuances of the US politics and party system and I could go on and on. Thank you for all of that Zack. I really miss you.
I worked with Zack at the Prague Security Studies Institute and I can say he was everything one could wish for in a colleague. He was always ready to help in any way he could. He was the kind of person who never forget to say thank you or to draw attention to his colleagues‘ work. Zack was generous and kind always, and he will be missed by all of us who got to know him.
Dear Zack,
I still cannot believe you are gone. It’s been hard to process since the very first day I got to know the sad news.
I had the honor and joy to participate in your “Approaches to Modern Conflicts” seminar, and I have to say that it was probably one of the best choices I have made throughout my entire academic career. It was so nice to get to know someone who was truly passionate about what he was doing and who was ready to help his students whenever needed. You were even willing to help us after our seminar was over. All that mattered to you was to keep the connection with your students. You truly cared about the students‘ community.
I believe Zack is a perfect exponent of the saying “kindness goes a long way” considering all the above-mentioned. The fact that we deeply mourn the loss of such a person shows the kind of human being you were.
I thank you for having been a part of my academic path and I’ll make sure to keep your memory alive. My thoughts are with your family and loved ones.
You will be missed. Rest in Peace, Zack.