From the Daily Cougar...

Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences John Antel said the college and the department are both at a great loss.

"It's a big loss because he was a great teacher," Antel said. "Philosophy at UH is a great department, but it's a pretty small department. We really depend on people like him."

It wasn't unusual for Marenchin to teach four or five classes a semester, said Antel, who was working with Marenchin on a philosophy-related study abroad program.

"He taught a lot of good classes here, and students liked him," Antel said.

This fall the professor taught two Introduction to Philosophy courses and two Introduction to Ethics classes.

Philosophy Department Chair Cynthia Freeland, who was was informed of the professor's death by Interim Provost Jerald Strickland late Monday night, said Marenchin was very laid-back and easy to talk with.

She said he had a "real low-key manner in class."

"He would really engage with the students and would sometimes be challenging toward them," she said. "A few times maybe the students were provoked, but in many cases they enjoyed it. They liked that kind of debate and being put on the spot."

Marenchin also infused his lectures with examples from his personal experiences, Freeland said.

"He tried to make the philosophy come more alive," she said.

Marenchin was a specialist in ethics and political philosophy and Kantian theory.

Second year philosophy graduate student Brian Embry said Marenchin was particularly concerned about students' education.

"He cared about getting his students to think about lots of different issues, especially regarding ethics. (He was) really fair too, to all the different perspectives," said Embry, one of Marenchin's teaching assistants.

In 1988 he received his Ph.D in philosophy from Rice University. He taught at The Honors College from 1994 to 1997, when he became an adjunct professor in the UH Philosophy Department. He also taught at UH-Clear Lake, St. Thomas University and Texas Southern University.

The Philosophy Department cancelled Marenchin's classes on Tuesday and has arranged for substitutes to meet with all of his classes for the remainder of the week.