Written: Dec. 22, 2005.
Like everyone else in our department, I just got the chair's message about the terrible news that our beloved Administrative Assistant to the Undergrad Chair, Diane Apadula, passed away.
I have never talked to Diane for more than two minutes at a time, but if you add up all these minutes, it would be quite long. She was always so helpful and efficient. In fact, she almost single-handedly ran our very large undergrad teaching program, that caters to more than ten thousand students. She was really the real boss, and the so-called "undergrad chair" was her assistant, in addition to serving as a figure-head.
Like any other professor and teaching assistant, I had lots of E-mail exchanges with her. She was always so efficient and helpful, always giving the right advice, often in very difficult situations. Diane will be sorely missed.