In Memoriam
I returned from Boston to learn that a lovely colleague and friend,
Nick Spencer, had passed away unexpectedly over the weekend. He will
be painfully missed.
Generous, kind, and smart, Nick was our graduate chair in the English department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His book is After Utopia, and he loved, studied, and taught twentieth-century American literature and critical theory.
I didn't know Nick well or for long, but when I arrived on campus for my initial interview, he welcomed (and interrogated!) me warmly, and that warmth continued throughout our interactions over the past year as we worked and socialized together. Nick was unfailingly thoughtful, interesting, and interested in other people.
We only talked briefly about our personal lives, but as I understand it, he came from a working-class background in Great Britain and worked his way through Oxford University and then, here in the U.S., through Emory. At UNL, he worked hard and enthusiastically on behalf of the department and the graduate students, and he worked hard and sincerely to help recruit minority students to our program. He was encouraging and appreciative. He connected with people. He was generous and gentle, a bright soul.
All of our hearts are a little bit broken today. To paraphrase Jane Austen, Where shall we see a better teacher, or a kinder colleague, or a truer friend? Nick, you will be so missed.
Generous, kind, and smart, Nick was our graduate chair in the English department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His book is After Utopia, and he loved, studied, and taught twentieth-century American literature and critical theory.
I didn't know Nick well or for long, but when I arrived on campus for my initial interview, he welcomed (and interrogated!) me warmly, and that warmth continued throughout our interactions over the past year as we worked and socialized together. Nick was unfailingly thoughtful, interesting, and interested in other people.
We only talked briefly about our personal lives, but as I understand it, he came from a working-class background in Great Britain and worked his way through Oxford University and then, here in the U.S., through Emory. At UNL, he worked hard and enthusiastically on behalf of the department and the graduate students, and he worked hard and sincerely to help recruit minority students to our program. He was encouraging and appreciative. He connected with people. He was generous and gentle, a bright soul.
All of our hearts are a little bit broken today. To paraphrase Jane Austen, Where shall we see a better teacher, or a kinder colleague, or a truer friend? Nick, you will be so missed.
Faye said:
I'm so very sorry for your loss, and for your school's loss :-(
July 23, 2008 1:45 AMfayepoet said:
Sad, to lose a colleague and so moving and special to see his face, to have a sense of his persona and to learn about his exceptional work. I am a 4th semester student in the Solstice program of Pine Manor, a former mentoree of Joy's, not the Faye who recently introduced her, but the Faye who wished I had. Thank you, Joy, for bringing it all back and for deepening the story with such heartfelt candor.
July 24, 2008 12:40 AM