Dr. Frank Duba is remembered

If a student is lucky, once in their lifetime they will find a professor who can change they way they think about education. This person Is not just a professor of a subject, but also a teacher of something more. These individuals leave a lasting impression on their students, and will be seen as a building block for the remainder of their education.

Dr. Frank Duba, Assistant Professor of English, was one of these rare professors who so greatly impacted his students and friends lives that even the simplest of lessons he taught will forever stay in their minds.

After a long struggle with cancer, Dr. Duba passed away on Monday night, Feb. 15. His passing is a great loss to the English department, and he will sorely be missed. He was an understanding and approachable person, and a fair and enthusiastic professor.

In reminiscence of Dr. Duba as a professor, friend and colleague, faculty and students have shared their memories:

“Dr. Duba was a thoughtful, expert, and engaging teacher who cared deeply about students. His scholarship was original and important to his teaching and to the profession. His service to the department, university, and larger community was generous and unfailing. I will miss his positive outlook, compassionate patience, good-natured humor, and boundless energy to do good. It is hard to believe that one so much alive can now be gone. He will survive in his friends, colleagues, and students,” Dr. Steve Miller, Professor of English said.

“It may sound corny, but I learned almost everything I know from Dr. Duba. I only had once class with him, but I learned more from him in one semester than other professors I’ve had for two or three semesters. Everything I do when it comes to being an English major or looking at anything even remotely related to literature, I got from Dr. Duba. I can’t even imagine not knowing what I learned from him. Some of my friends never had class with him, and I just can’t believe that they’ll never get a chance to,” Michelle Topper, a senior, said.

“Frank was a remarkable man. Besides being insightful and funny—usually at the same time, he was so conscientious and generous. When I would do something as small as watch his cat for a weekend, he would give me a bottle of wine. He put people at ease about his illness because he was always upfront about what he was going through. Many in the department were surprised by his passing because of the matter-of-fact way he presented his situation. It was hard to tell how close he was to the end hearing him joke about the crazy stuff he was going through. I really admire how he led his life, right to the end,” said Dr. Caleb Corkery, Assistant Professor of English.

“Well for me, Dr. Duba was my professor and my advisor. I remember the one time I had no idea what to put into my schedule and he took the time to sit down with me for a good half hour to look at all the classes that were available and he gave me tips on which classes would be better to take. He always got back to my emails with whatever questions I had and no matter how long it took to answer a question; he would keep trying to explain the subject as best he could in different ways until I understood what the topic was about,” Cait Fitzpatric, a senior said.

“For me, Dr. Duba was simply a kind, caring person who always wanted to help his students find new ways to think about and enjoy literature. He was always on the same level as his students – there were times when he even admitted that he didn’t like or understand a certain philosophical or theoretical framework – and that connection he developed with all his students was loved and appreciated by everybody. He never had a bad word to say about anybody and was always helpful if you needed something clarified or further explained. He was also funny – his one-liners, sometimes about a phallic symbol or poking fun at an author, always kept his classes light and interesting.

Let’s also not forget how smart and insightful he was. He opened up new ways of thinking for me about not only literature, but life, whether it was through Freudian analysis or introducing the “Death of the Author” concept, in which it is argued that the author’s intended meaning in a piece is much less important than the interpreted meaning by the reader.

Needless to say, the Millersville English department has lost one of its best and Dr. Duba will be sorely missed” Wesley Schmidt, a senior, said.

To share your memories of Dr. Frank Duba, a memorial will be held Feb. 25 at 4:30 p.m. in the Ford Atrium. A memory book will be created in his honor, to be given to his family.