Professor C

I had the very good fortune of meeting Professor Joe Culver as I was starting my second year at UT. A business student and RA at the time, he was assigned to my dorm floor as our "Faculty Fellow," which meant that he would come and eat at the dorm and get to know some of the residents. Because I was the RA, I got to know Prof C (as he liked to be called) very well, and it couldn't have come at a better time for me.

In 2002, Prof C had already worked at UT for decades and I think he was technically in retirement, but he kept an office at the B. School and maintained connections with the career office, doing what he loved the absolute most--helping students. Prof C was a master networker and a champion of students. Over the next two years I was at UT, we would meet and have lunch and stay in touch via email. He helped get me into the Communications School at UT when I knew that business would not be my cup of tea. He helped connect me to professionals in Dallas after I graduated and wrote me one of the kindest letters of recommendation I have ever read. Prof C was a kind, gentle man who was adored by MANY. He loved telling success stories about his students and especially about his grandchildren. He also loved sharing inspiration quotations and just had a real passion for his life, family and career. It was no surprise to me when he told me one time that a former student recently had a baby boy and named the child after Prof C. He was touched. He also spoke of growing up in Austin when I35 was just a little road and he would play football with his brothers in the median!

The last time I met with Prof C was during my time in graduate school. Not too long ago, I tried to contact him to catch up and let him know that I had become a social worker (his wife is a Social worker) and was enjoying a career in hospice and that I just had a baby. Unfortunately, I came across his obituary and discovered that he had passed away just a few months before. I read the guest entries online and they made me smile, because there were so many former students, just like me, that had really been touched by the good Professor. I wrote his wife to express my condolences and to let her know what an impact he had on me during my time on the 40 Acres. She wrote back a sweet message, and expressed just how terribly she misses him. I can only imagine.

Thank you, Prof C, for being such a wonderful friend and kind spirit to me. I hope to be able to help others the way you helped me.