Dr. Constantine Georgiou, Educator, Author, Dies At 81

"She is beautiful. Oh, so beautiful. She shall become Rani, Queen of the Jungle." This phrase introduced the children's literature masterpiece, Rani: Queen of the Jungle, a children's book by Dr. Constantine Georgiou. A soft-spoken professor with an English accent, Georgiou created such masterpieces as Persepina, the Duck That Came to School and The Clock that enchanted children for generations. As an educator of educators, he shaped the destiny of college students in all fields through his academic support and legendary generosity and kindness. Georgiou died suddenly on Jan. 2, 2009 at the age of 81. His 40-day memorial service was held on Sunday, February 8 at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Norwalk, Connecticut. Dr. John G. Siolas, Dr. Steve Papadopoulos and Dr. George Melikokis planned the service and attended with their spouses.

"Constantine must be reading to the angels by now," Dr. Jerrold Ross, dean of the St. John's University School of Education, said. "I recall with great delight that the New York City Teacher's Center wanted to hear from Constantine over anyone else, enlightening the university's mentors and guides. The modesty with which Constantine received this news only heightened the warmth and excitement that heralded his many appearances for that group. The same was true of his courses. Constantine was genuine, unique, scholarly and intensely human."

Dr. John G. Siolas of St. John's University said, "[Georgiou] was my professor, mentor and a father to me for many, many years." Dr. Steve Papadopoulos of the City University of New York (CUNY) remembered him as "a wonderful person" and added: "We will love you and miss you, always." Despina Siolas, a student at Stony Brook University Medical School, said, "I'm very sorry to hear the sad news. I have many memories of Prof. Georgiou and his books, especially The Clock."

Georgiou was born in New York City on Apr. 2, 1927. He spent most of his childhood years in Calcutta, India, London and New York. In the course of his life, he aided the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Greek-American organizations, and international universities and companies.

Georgiou's awards included the 2000 Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award of the New York University School of Education, designating the recipient as a distinguished professor in his field of endeavor, presented during the university's commencement ceremony; a Presidential Citation for 50 years of teaching, conferred by President Bill Clinton on July 16, 1997 at the White House, Washington D.C.; the New York University Professor of the Year Award in 1992, and Educator of the Year Award conferred by the Hellenic American Educators in 1979.

In 2002, NYU alumna Linda Sanger made a gift to the Education Health and the Arts Foundation (E.H.A.), of New York University for the Constantine Georgiou Children's Book Library. The Georgiou Book Center houses an extensive collection of children's traditional, religious and holiday literature. "Our library is the first of its kind at a university," Georgiou said in an interview. "I hope it will set a precedent for other institutions to emulate. It is wonderful to finally have a children's library that everyone- children, students and the community- will be able to use. I have worked diligently over the years, and with much love, to bring recognition to the field of children's literature. This wonderful gift from the E.H.A. Foundation is inspiring."