Ferris communications professor Lon Green died Sunday night after a motorcycle accident.
The accident happened locally, as Green was treated in the Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital, but medical efforts were unsuccessful.
Sophomore business hospitality management major Tyler Dame was one of Professor Green’s students who was deeply affected by the loss.
“It’s just really shocking,” Dame said. “This was one of the classes that I really enjoyed coming to, just because Professor Green was so funny and he was such a good storyteller.”
Solemn heads nodded in agreement as the small group of Green’s blindsided students that gathered supported Dame’s sentiment. The students were attending what they assumed would be a normal class session in Johnson 104 on Monday at 1 p.m. when the news was broken to them by other members of the Humanities Department.
“I’m one of those people that likes to form a connection with my instructors. I sat in the front row in this class, and Professor Green would be interacting with me all the time, and even interacting with the people that sat in the back of the room. That’s just the kind of guy he was,” Dame said.
According to a statement released by the university at noon on Monday, Green had been teaching at Ferris since 1985, and was spending this semester instructing several sections of COMM 105, along with serving as the coordinator of the communications program.
A group counseling service will be held on Thursday at 11 a.m. in room 203 in the University Center for those grieving Professor Green’s passing. Walk-in services will also be available at the Counseling Center prior to Thursday’s event.