On a campus where over 26,000 students go to class and over 6,000 faculty and other employees go to work, it can be easy to lose a sense of community.

An instructor — in passing on knowledge to students and encouraging them to learn — has one of the most fundamental and important jobs in bringing together a university campus and when we lose one, the tragedy brings us together.

Rick Gumina was, by the account of those that knew him, a one-of-a-kind teacher who inspired his students to love a subject that many struggle to grasp. Throughout his 15 years as a statistics instructor, he sincerely cared to do all he could to get students to understand seemingly untenable mathematical concepts.

In 2003, CSU’s Resources for Disabled Students presented Gumina with its Outstanding Effort Award, saying that through his dedication he ensured that students of all abilities in mathematics could succeed in his class and that “There are likely students who would not have graduated without his effort in supporting their success.”

The Collegian Editorial Board extends its condolences to the friends, family, colleagues and students of Carl Richard Gumina. The CSU community lost a beloved instructor on Monday and he will be dearly missed.