Gregory Mark Tropea
Sept. 10, 1950 - April 23, 2010

 

Gregory Mark Tropea, long time CFA activist and campus Lecturer Representative, died Friday, April 23, at home surrounded by loving family and friends. Greg had struggled valiantly against the ravages of pancreatic cancer, which was first diagnosed in July 2008. He showed remarkable grace and courage during that long battle. He was 59 years old.

Greg was born Sept. 10, 1950, in Utica, New York, where he lived with his family before leaving for Moravian College. He spent his junior year abroad at Philipps Universität in Marburg, Germany. He completed his B.A. in German at Moravian, and then an M.A. in Linguistic Theory, an M.A. in Religion, and a PhD in Religion and Cultural Symbol Systems, all from Syracuse University. Greg married Ko-Ko Yen in 1974, and their daughter, Gina, was born two years later.

 

Greg Tropea was a dedicated teacher, esteemed by his students and colleagues for the verve of his engagement in teaching and for his innovation in pedagogical strategies. He taught German and English at the Chinese Cultural University in Taipei before coming to CSU, Chico in 1986 as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Religious Studies. Greg subsequently taught as a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy where he served for many years as coordinator of the Logic and Critical Thinking program, and eventually obtained the highest range elevation for lecturers. Greg’s innovative use of Internet components and assessment of student learning was years before either of these became common elements in the University curriculum. Greg retired and was granted emeritus status earlier this year.

 

Greg was actively engaged in professional and scholarly achievements. He published his doctoral dissertation, Religion, Ideology and Heidegger’s Concept of Falling, which is being re-published. He published articles and book chapters on Chinese philosophy, educational technology, and post-colonial thought. He presented papers at national and international conferences on ecology, utopian studies, postmodern philosophy, the I Ching, philosophical counseling, the writings of Martin Heidegger. He wrote educational software, music, and hundreds of song lyrics.

 

Greg served the California Faculty Association for many years as an officer in the local chapter and in statewide leadership. Greg advocated strenuously for the rights and security of temporary faculty in the CSU, with direct outcomes in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and also in actions by the state Legislature to ensure that contingent faculty are guaranteed state labor law rights. Greg recounted the progress of the CFA during his years of service in an essay published this year.

 

Greg sat on the Board of Directors for Chico Natural Foods, The Wall Street Center for the Arts and also served on the Chico Arts Commission for a number of years. He believed strongly in the importance of the arts in civic culture. He founded Humboldt Studios in town as a locus for excellent food, musical performance, intellectual gatherings, and a recording studio for local musicians. It was at the Humboldt Studios that Greg maintained his practice in philosophical counseling.

 

Greg loved hiking in Bidwell Park and swimming in Big Chico Creek. He was a regular at Burning Man, including last year while coping with his illness. Those who would accompany him across campus on the way to lunch or coffee know that it would take a long time to get to the destination, because both on campus and on the streets of town people would want to stop and talk and always Greg would engage in earnest conversation.

 

As his illness has occupied his life during the past year and a half, the outpouring of help and concern has been overwhelming. He was cherished as a friend and colleague among those who knew him on campus and in the city of Chico, and by his numerous life-long friendships nation- and world-wide.

 

Greg is survived by his wife of 36 years, Ko-Ko Tropea, his daughter, Gina Henson Tropea, his son-in-law, Saul Henson, his two-year-old grandson, Woodrow Henson, all of Chico, and his sister, Jan DeAngelils of Milton, Mass.

 

We will always remember him and forever miss him.