Collegiate Times

Correction: This story has been modified from its original version. — april 16, construction

No matter how many times we retell his story, there is always something truly humbling about professor Liviu Librescu. While we as students, researchers and administrators face tough challenges every day, the mere mention of Librescu’s name is enough to leave mouths half-open as we instantly forget our daily pressures in light of those the late professor faced.

Honored by the Virginia Tech community and the national public, Librescu was once a Jewish child in Romania during the Holocaust and later earned his Ph.D. under the communist regime in his homeland, publishing in foreign journals in secret — as such academic freedoms were barred by the government.

Finally, the brilliant researcher and his wife escaped the eastern European country for Israel, then left in 1985 for Tech, where Librescu had taken a position in the department of engineering science and mechanics. And there is no question that Librescu was brilliant. His extensive list of published papers, awards and lectures, as well as the respect he earned from his peers, showcased his merits as a scientist and teacher.

But for all Librescu’s academic acumen, his legacy is of determination and courage. Not only did Librescu gain respect in a highly challenging field, but he did so under the most difficult of circumstances. Our own struggles to make time for friends and family are important, but they pale against the professor’s struggle to achieve under the rule of a totalitarian regime. This is what determination looks like.

It still was not enough for Librescu though. He had the courage to subvert the government and share his work with the academic community. No history lesson is needed to imagine the possible punishments for undermining the state. Librescu’s actions supported the highest academic value, one that we all would do well to remember: The free flow of knowledge and information.

We should also remember Librescu for his bravery on April 16, 2007, for sacrificing his life to barricade the door, giving his students time to escape the classroom. Unfortunately, 32 people died on that somber morning, but had it not been for Librescu, that toll would have been much higher and the suffering even greater. When we light our candles Saturday night, Librescu will rightly be honored and mourned.

There is more that we can do, though. New Residence Hall East and New Hall West have each been open a few years now, though neither has been given a dedication. The solution should be obvious: Affix his name to a residence hall. It would be a fitting way to honor someone whose life was so dedicated to the values of scholarship and who personally cared so deeply for students as to offer his life to save them.

In a way, Librescu’s memory should not only humble us — it should inspire us. In all his 76 years, he epitomized Tech: scholarship, dedication, courage and sacrifice. Just as we see these values each time we see the pylons, maybe one day we will be reminded of them by gazing upon Librescu Hall.

-the editorial board is composed of peter velz, gabi seltzer, scott masselli 

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 15 issue of the Collegiate Times.