When Professor of Humanities Eugene Sapadin retires in December, a lot of mysteries will be left in the wake of his departure. Many students and faculty can only speculate about Sapadin’s history prior to his 39 years at Johnson State College.

Some say he’s worked as an engineer on a nuclear submarine – attributing his forgetfulness to nuclear radiation. Others say that he knew Bertrand Russell and had associations with the acid wizard Ken Kesey – that he once wrote scripts for Hollywood and served as a professor at numerous prestigious universities in the US, UK and England. Others say he’s enrolled in the Witness Protection Program and is seeking refuge in Vermont.

Of these rumors, few are willing to verify their veracity.

“Let’s back up,” said Assistant Professor of Writing and Literature Tyrone Shaw, friend to Sapadin for 45 years. “I don’t want to even comment on rumors about him. All I can say is he’s had a very interesting and picturesque life beyond academia, even distinguished.”

And Sapadin even refuses to comment on the subject: “Under advice of counsel, I’m pleading the Fifth Amendment,” he said, adding, “I think that’ll be a good Sapadin quote anyway.”

When students, faculty and friends describe Sapadin, they use words like “legend,” “unorthodox,” “irreverent,” “intellectual,” “stoic,” “cynic,” “bizarre” – all words that paint an enigmatic haze around the big word: “Sapadin.”

Many students who have never even taken a Sapadin Class recognize the name, conjuring images and stories of his epic presence on campus.

At some parties, students implement a beer pong move known as “The Sapadin.”

It requires a foot, waist height, on the table – a sort of exaggerated Captain Morgan stance – when shooting.

And when “Sapadin” is muttered in a crowd on campus, at least one head will turn in recognition. “I heard he came to Johnson because …” or “Did you know he …” they’ll say and trail off.

But they can only speculate; no students really seem to know. The more accurate and endearing stories come from those who’ve had class with him.

“Oh my gosh! Tuesday in his class,” said Kayla Wisell, “he was trying to write with one of the markers on the white board, and it was totally dead.”

After a minute fumbling with the dry-erase marker Sapadin said “Fuck! Fuck it!” in his low and Clint Eastwood-like voice and, with the marker in hand, sauntered to the other end of the room near the doors. From there – all the way across the room – Sapadin,wound up and lobbed the marker in the trash can. “It was awesome,” she said, “and then [he] got really stoked for making it.”

Sapadin, said John Willson, actually makes these three-pointers frequently in class, so one day he asked him about it. “Sapadin said he played basketball at Middlebury in the 60’s,” said Willson. “We were like, ‘Wow, you must have been really good; you’re really tall.’ He said, ‘No,’ and he made some comment about a six foot six baby giraffe running around.”

Some students shy away from Sapadin, but others adore him for his eccentricities. Lisa Korth, who has taken every Sapadin Course, thinks he’s amazing, engaging and energetic. “He’s out-there, but the examples he uses are completely relevant, and they make students focus.”

Some of these “out-there” examples Sapadin uses in class cover sheep buggery, rape, murder, dismemberment of miners, homosexuality and cannibalism.

“It’s all kinds of things, but then we relate them back to ethics, or you relate them back to philosophy,” she said. “Will robots ever be able to think; will we ever think of them as human. That’s something that we talk about.”

Sapadin often utilizes students in these examples to pique involvement, and Wisell can understand how some students can take offense. It’s mutual though, she said, as Sapadin will often include himself in these stories.

“But he’ll always make himself into the bad guy. ‘So, this is the sex slave market, and I’ve just kidnapped a few people.’ That’s what I like best about it,” said Korth. “It just makes me laugh to see him standing up there as this quirky professor and talking about murder and rape and all kinds of crazy things.”

Korth said Sadadin is one of the greatest teachers at JSC, “period.” He taught her to examine issues critically, from all sides. And as a tutor for his classes, she said he has a similarly profound effect on others. Students who are struggling – who might be reluctant to receive help – Sapadin encourages to see her for assistance if he isn’t available.

During Sapadin’s leave of absence last semester, Korth said no students came to her for help for the classes he would have been teaching, and she didn’t think it was because students weren’t struggling, just that they didn’t care.

“I feel like he motivates with his examples and with his compassion for the subject,” she said. “You’re not learning out of a book; you don’t have a book. You’re taking these real examples and talking about them, and I feel like not enough teachers do that.”

Among the many rumors that circulate JSC, there is one that’s often overlooked – a quality of Sapadin’s that former JSC Professor of Writing and Literature Toney Whedon thinks he does his best to keep quiet.

“You mean he won’t interview you for his retirement story?” he said over the phone. “Ha! I didn’t do that either. I can understand why somebody would be that way. He’s going to love it, but he doesn’t want to look like he loves it. Everything I’ve told you, you can put on that thing; I don’t care. And if you see him tell him he owes you a telephone call.”

Whedon, who’s friendship with Sapadin dates back to their teaching positions at Middlebury in the late 70’s, knows what his friend’s secret is: his “big heart.”

And perhaps more students know than Sapadin thinks, because amongst the sensational vocabulary used to describe this man are other terms, like “charming,” “endearing,” “sweet heart,” “harmless” and “brilliant.”

To most of his students and his friends, Sapadin is a man of respect and admiration.

“He doesn’t just come in and start talking at the class, he talks to us,” said Chani Feener. She said Sapadin becomes really excited when his students grasp a concept.

And his students do also. Wisell has been so inspired by his classes that she doesn’t think she can sit through any others when he leaves, and Willson wants to cryogenically freeze his brain so they can explore the mind-body connection, a topic that’s often covered in his classes.

“I will pursue seeing him outside of class just to get a conversation in edgewise because he’s brilliant,” said Wisell, and Willson wishes every class he’s taken was taught by Sapadin.

When Sapadin leaves JSC, many students and friends will miss him, and several students even fear for the quality of their education.

“Just in general, he has a really shimmering intellect, and I’m going to miss that a lot,” said Shaw, refusing to comment about allegations of bestiality. “In a sense, Sapadin is so much more than a professor; he’s an experience, and I don’t think anybody who ever takes a Sapadin Class forgets it.”