This week the Haverford community was shocked with the news that our own Professor Kight had passed away suddenly. Professor Duane Kight could often be seen enjoying lunch in the DC and walking around campus on a sunny day, always with a smile on his face. Kight not only taught in the French department, but he was also involved with the Freshman Writing Seminar program and taught a course on Monsters. His online bio reveals the breadth of his academic interests, which included the medieval period, particularly the 12th century, the French Second Empire and Belle Epoque, the English Victorian period, opera and music-literature relations, queer theory, cultural studies, film studies, and monsters.
Students of his know that there was never a dull moment in class with Professor Kight. He often shared with students his extra-curricular passions, such as his singing with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. I remember one time in his Intermediate French class, Kight shared with us his hilarious hobby of watching all of the dogs walk around campus as he narrates in a Safari National-Geographic style the “Poodles of the Sahara.” Not only did Duane shine in the classroom, but he also was always extremely willing to meet students for extra work or just have a quick chat in line at the DC.
So, the whole community was shaken when we received an email from the administration that Duane had suddenly passed away last Sunday. In order to honor his astonishing 25 years of service at Haverford College and his heartwarming impact on students and professors alike, the college is hosting a memorial service on Saturday, May 5th, at 11a.m. in Founders Hall. He will certainly be missed by everyone in the community at Haverford and Bryn Mawr College, and we with the best to his family and friends.