NIU mourns death of Gustaaf Van Cromphout

by Tom Parisi

Gustaaf Van Cromphout of DeKalb, a beloved 37-year veteran English professor at Northern Illinois University, died Thursday, Sept. 1, at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford. The 67-year-old professor had been hospitalized since Aug. 27 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Friends, colleagues and students described him as a brilliant educator who spoke or read about a dozen languages and was supremely versed in literature. Above all he was friendly, always greeting even casual acquaintances with his deep voice, still thick with the accent of his native Belgium.

“There are few among us who profoundly touch the lives of all they meet,” NIU Department of English Chair Deborah Holdstein wrote in a message posted on the English department's Web site. “Gustaaf was such a person.”

After earning his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Ghent in Belgium, Van Cromphout came to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, where he met his eventual wife, Luz.

In the fall of 1968, he began teaching at NIU.

“He was a kid during the German occupation of Belgium and always remembered when the American troops liberated the country,” English Professor James Giles said. “Because of that experience, he really loved the United States.”

At NIU, Van Cromphout was a scholar's scholar who specialized in comparative literature with a particular expertise in American transcendentalism. He penned two highly regarded books on Ralph Waldo Emerson and also wrote on Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Henry James and other well-known authors.

“He was a brilliant teacher, outstanding scholar and just the best colleague you could possibly have in every way,” Giles said, adding that his friend's death devastated the English department, especially because Van Cromphout appeared to be in such excellent health. He walked from his DeKalb home to and from campus each day and was an avid cyclist.

Colleagues and students said Van Cromphout's possessed a true passion for teaching. In 1979, he was awarded the university's Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. He also mentored many graduate students, once learning Portuguese to serve on the dissertation committee of a student who was working on a Portuguese translation of Richard Wright's “Native Son.”

“He believed in you,” said Andy Sidle, a graduate assistant who took four classes taught by Van Cromphout. The professor also was directing Sidle's dissertation. “It's because of him I became interested in the American romantics, and he gave me the confidence and encouraged me to tackle Emerson for my dissertation.

“Most people who took his classes felt he was the best professor they ever had,” Sidle added. “My friends and I wanted to bring a tape recorder into class with us because we didn't want to miss one word he said.”

NIU Ph.D. student and graduate assistant Caresse John said that although Van Cromphout was unmatched in his knowledge, he treated students as peers. “He never passed me in the hall with just a ‘hi,' ” she said. “There was always a conversation that invariably ended in a compliment. That's how he treated everybody.

“As a teacher, he was unbelievably smart,” she added. “People talk about how their jaws would drop in his class, but it was true. He could quote long passages from memory in their original languages and in English. At the same time, you never felt inferior to him. He always made sure to treat you as an intellectual peer.”

In addition to his devotion to teaching and scholarship, Van Cromphout was highly involved in service to NIU at the department, college and university levels.

“We all know the old saw about shoes that are impossible to fill,” English Chair Holdstein said. “In this case, it's true.”

In addition to his wife Luz, Van Cromphout is survived by two daughters, Beatriz (Evan) Dillman of Aurora and Jana (Thomas) Cuggino of Wheaton, and by three grandchildren. Funeral services were held Sept. 7, with burial at Fairview Park Cemetery in DeKalb.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made toward a scholarship fund being established in the memory of Gustaaf Van Cromphout. For more information, call (815) 753-0612.

9-12-05