HUNTSVILLE Ala. – A biology department chairman gunned down at a faculty meeting was remembered Thursday as a father figure who cared deeply about his students, the kind of professor who kept his office door open in case they needed to talk about personal problems.
Mourners hugged and cried Thursday at a memorial service for Dr. Gopi K. Podila, 52, slain last week at the University of Alabama in Huntsville along with two colleagues.
Fellow professor Amy Bishop remains jailed, accused of killing them and wounding three others. Police have not released a motive, but colleagues say she was unhappy about being denied tenure. Podila, however, had supported her tenure application.
Students said he supported them too. Former student Joy Agee recalled that Podila helped her overcome her anxiety about a speech to a community group by showing up in the audience.
“He told me if I got nervous during the speech to just look at him and just talk to him,” she said.
At Thursday’s memorial, a long line of mourners moved slowly from the funeral home lobby, down a hallway and before an open casket in the sanctuary. A private service was to be held later.
A campus memorial service will be held Friday evening, and services for slain biology professors Dr. Adriel Johnson and Dr. Maria Ragland Davis are set for Friday and Saturday.
