Professor of Spanish Alexander Levin died Friday following a stroke he suffered while leading Dartmouth's Language Study Abroad program in Puebla, Mexico.
Levin's students and colleagues repeatedly described his sense of humor, his warmth and his passion for learning new languages.
Shortly after Levin suffered a stroke on Feb. 5, Spanish professor Israel Reyes flew to Puebla to head the group, according to John Tansey, executive director of Off-Campus Programs. Reyes will remain in charge of the program until the end of this term.
Levin flew back to the United States shortly before he died at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, according to Marsha Swislocki, head of the Spanish department.
Stratos Pahis '04, who traveled to Puebla last spring on an LSA led by Levin, noted that he was "by far closer to Prof. Levin than any other professor I have ever had. He had this great open personality that was always happy and relaxed and invited conversation."
Lindsay Clark '04 remembered how Levin came to visit her in her Mexican host family's house during her LSA in Puebla after she became very ill at the beginning of the program. "In general, he was a really nice guy. It was impossible not to really like him," she said.
Among Levin's defining traits were his "approachability," "fun attitude," "genuine love for his students" and a "general appreciation of food" -- in particular for agua fresca and Mexican tamales -- according to Jocelyn Singer-Sargent '04, who also traveled to Puebla with last spring's LSA group.
Raul Bueno-Chavez vividly recalled his colleague's "amazing" ability to learn new languages. Levin spoke six and was reputed to be able to "pick up a new language in a single weekend."
He knew the Spanish language in a "profound and professional way," Bueno-Chavez said, and was able to describe succinctly to native Spanish speaker Bueno-Chavez the Latin derivations of the two Spanish subjunctives.
After Levin led a three-month LSA trip to Barcelona, for example, he returned to the United States proficient in Catalan.
Similarly, Joseph Horrell '04 could remember Levin approaching an Asian couple in a hotel in Puebla last spring and easily striking up a conversation "in a language he was only partly familiar in."
The incident struck Horrell as a typical example of Levin's ease with people from all walks of life and desire to strike down linguistic and cultural barriers.
Both Swislocki and Bueno-Chavez remembered Levin's love of nature. Bueno-Chavez recalled his particular love for bird-watching and said that "one of the most beautiful books he had" was a bird book that Levin gave to him in 1984.
Levin was born in Phoenix on July 26, 1941, and was raised in Arizona, California and Mazatlan, Mexico.
He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Harvard University and a master's degree in East Asian Studies from Yale University.
Levin taught Chinese at Dartmouth from 1970 to 1980 and then taught Spanish at Dartmouth until his death. He led many LSAs and foreign study programs to both Spain and Mexico.
He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Susan Vogt, and a son, Owen, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
A memorial service in his honor was held yesterday at the chapel of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Contributions may be made in Levin's name to the Hanover Conservation Council, in the care of Peter Armstrong.
