Stevens community mourns the loss of Professor Charles Suffel

Dr. Charles Suffel, a highly renowned professor of mathematical sciences in the School of Engineering and Science and a former Dean of Graduate Studies, recently passed away on February 4.

Professor Suffel had quite the history here at Stevens — five decades of it at the very least. After completing his Ph.D. at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, he first joined Stevens’ faculty in 1969 as an assistant professor. He was later promoted to associate professor in 1974 and finally to an official professor in 1979. He served as Dean of Graduate Studies for 20 years between 1995 and 2015 during his time teaching at Stevens. Furthermore, he was a member of the Academic Council between 2007 and 2013.

Suffel’s achievements in character and contributions to his research field can be reflected in the awards he has earned over the decades. For his exceptional teaching, Suffel was awarded a Stevens Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award in the years 1978 and 1991. For his outstanding efforts pertaining to his specialization in network theory and reliability, he was awarded the Jess H. Davis Memorial Award for Research Excellence as a co-recipient in 1982, followed by a Henry Morton Distinguished Teaching Professor Award in 1989.

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Professor Suffel’s passion for teaching and research surely left its mark on Stevens throughout his five decades of being here. His legacy will undoubtedly be honored in the years to come.

The Stute reached out to five close colleagues of Professor Suffel for any thoughtful comments they wished to commemorate him:

Charlie was truly a gentleman and a scholar.  I never once encountered him without a smile on his face.  He had an inner warmth and positive spirit that were contagious.  You just couldn’t be around Charlie without smiling or laughing, and I cannot help but smile when I think of him now.  I am so fortunate to have known him, and he will be sorely missed by me and so many Stevens friends and colleagues.
— Beth McGrath, Vice President for University Relations

Dr. Suffel will be sorely missed. He was such a great guy, and always so much fun to talk to. He came to our “Library Libations” event at the Samuel C. Williams Library a few years ago during an abnormal snowstorm in early November and we were so enamored with all the stories he would tell and his institutional memory of Stevens. He was a great storyteller; and I wish we had recorded and preserved his stories for the Stevens archives in time. The Stevens community has lost one of the best.
— Leah Lostcutoff, Head of Archives & Special Collections

Professor Suffel was an exemplary teacher and academic mentor.  As a professor and an administrator, he encouraged innumerable students and colleagues to stay committed to pursuing their academic dreams.  He had a profound impact on the personal, intellectual, and professional development of so many members of the Stevens community through the years.  Professor Suffel was a person of integrity, humility, and kindheartedness.  He was a dear friend, and he is sorely missed.
— Linda Beninghove, Ed.D. Director Samuel C. Williams Library

I remember that Charlie used to joke a lot about how tough he was on students. He did expect a lot from his students, but he also cared a lot about them. If a student was having difficulty but working hard, Charlie was always there to help. He did not have much patience with students he thought were just coasting.
— Robert Gilman, Professor in the department of Mathematical Sciences

Charlie Suffel was beloved as a professor, mentor and leader in the Stevens community. He was a gifted mathematician and an exceptional teacher who was dedicated to his students.
— Provost Christophe Pierre