French Prof. Duane Kight dies suddenly

UPDATE (5/2/2012): A memorial service to honor Kight will be held Saturday, May 5th at 11 a.m. in Founders Hall. 

After 25 years with the French department, Duane Kight, Associate Professor of French, passed away suddenly on April 30.

Dean of Academic Affairs Philip Bean notified the student body through an email.

Although plans for a memorial service have not yet been announced, “the Dean’s Office will do what it can to ensure that the student body is apprised of such plans once made,” Bean said.

Bean’s email is pasted below. This post will be updated as more details emerge.

Dear Students,

It is with immense regret that I write to you to say that Duane Kight, Associate Professor of French, passed away very suddenly this Sunday.

Duane was a member of the Haverford College French Department since 1987.  He was an exceptionally dedicated teacher and mentor to many over the past quarter century.  His former students have themselves gone on to distinguished careers as teachers and scholars.We in the Dean’s Office were privileged to know Duane extremely well.  He was a kind, dedicated man of many talents and broad interests whose warmth and distinctive sense of humor and outlook on life will be sorely missed by us all.  For many of us, he was not just a coworker–he was a friend, and a much valued one at that.The Deans recognize that students touched by Duane’s generosity may understandably find this news saddening, as do we–particularly at this time of year, when so many of us are already short on stamina and time to reflect on anything beyond the work that we all must complete between now and next Friday.  However, some of us may want to make just a little time to speak to those who are only too happy to provide support and perhaps some insight.  We want you to know that CAPS and the Deans stand ready to meet with students who may experience feelings of grief that are wholly natural at times like these.Such news is never welcome, and we are not obligated to like it.  However, I hope that those of you who enjoyed your experiences with Duane will recognize that your memories of him, and the legacy he left behind in a generation of Haverford students touched by his dedication and kindness, are powerful and positive realities of which nothing can deprive us.

Best regards on behalf of all the Deans,
Phil Bean