Professor Wojbor Woyczyński was a member of the mathematics faculty for almost 40 years. This photo was taken in March 2000.

Soon after Sreenu Konda (GRS ‘02, ’06, statistics) left India to pursue his doctorate at Case Western Reserve, his advisor, Wojbor Woyczyński, became a close counsel and guide for the young immigrant. “He was really a father figure to me,” says Konda, with Woyczyński helping him navigate the new worlds of America and academia.

This close mentoring relationship with Woyczyński, a CWRU mathematics professor for almost 40 years, was not unique. Dexter Cahoy (GRS ’07, statistics) left his home and family in the Philippines to study in the United States, and he says Woyczyński went out of his way to help him acclimate and grow. “He was very nice to me and very attentive when I was new to the U.S.,” Cahoy recalls. “Maybe he understood because he was once an immigrant, too.”

Woyczyński was born in 1943 in Nazi-occupied Częstochowa, Poland, later moving to Wroclaw, where he would begin his study of mathematics. He came to the U.S. in 1976 and joined Case Western Reserve as chair of the mathematics department in 1982. He met his wife, Liz Woyczyński (MGT ’11), while she was on the staff of the university’s Office of Undergraduate Admission; she is now director of admissions and student services for the Global Legal Studies Program at CWRU School of Law. Of his three children—Martin (CWR ’01), Greg (CWR ’13) and Lauren—two attended the university.

Woyczyński, who died last August, was a prolific academic writer, editor and translator, with 18 books and more than 150 articles to his credit. Among his many awards, he was named a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics in 1986 and was part of a team that won the 2013 Prix La Recherche for the best work in the field of mathematics.

“He certainly had amazing individual achievements,” says Stanisław Szarek, the Kerr Professor of Mathematics. “But I think his main strength was in getting people to work together.” Included in these efforts was “The Probability Consortium of the Western Reserve,” a series of meetings of local mathematics researchers that he launched in the 1980s.

Szarek says that Woyczyński’s enthusiastic nature made him both a natural convener and an electric instructor: “He was a really engaging personality, and it was clear that he cared about students.”

Konda, now clinical assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois Chicago, remembers encountering this trait when he turned in his first research article to Woyczyński. “It was a bad paper,” Konda recalls with a laugh. Woyczyński summoned him into his office, told him as much and gave him extensive feedback.

“He was a very busy guy,” Konda says. “He was chair of the department, he was on multiple committees, he was writing multiple books, he had multiple grad students. But he took time to rewrite multiple pages of my article and give me a direction. And that direction was instrumental for the rest of my academic life.“

In the classroom, Alexandra Piryatinska (GRS ’05, statistics), now professor of mathematics at San Francisco State University, appreciated Woyczyński’s ability to explain complex mathematical ideas with real dimension. “When he described things, you could really see the picture of how it works,” she recalls. “It’s a very rare ability. Not many people can see this big picture and communicate it.”

As her doctoral advisor, Piryatinska says, Woyczyński showed faith in her. Three months from graduation, she came to him with a totally new direction for her thesis. Woyczyński suggested she take up the topic after she earned her degree, but Piryatinska held firm. Woyczyński didn’t talk to her for two weeks—but then came to her and asked how he could help. “Even though it was pretty risky, Wojbor allowed me to pursue my idea,” she says. “He supported me.” And that new path, she adds, is still an important part of her work today.

Woyczyński was a trusted mentor for Piryatinska long after she left CWRU. “Sometimes I would want to discuss an idea or a paper I was working on, and I would call him and ask him, ’What do you see? I am in doubt here,’” she says. “It’s such a big loss for all of us.”

Wojbor Woyczyński and his family traveled to Wrocław, Poland, where he was raised and educated, in 2011. From left: Greg, Lauren, Liz, Wojbor and Martin.

Woyczyński led an active life beyond academia. He was particularly dedicated to tennis, competing in tournaments and achieving a top 10 spot in the National Adult United States Tennis Association rankings for his age group. For many years, he served as both faculty advisor and assistant coach for Case Western Reserve’s tennis team.

He even instilled a passion for the game in some of his students. When Cahoy was about to finish his studies, he was expecting Woyczyński to give him a book; that’s what he’d heard previous graduate students had received. Instead, he got a tennis racket. “Dexter,” Woyczyński told him, “our job is very dangerous, because we are just sitting almost 24/7. We need to be active.” Cahoy took up the sport immediately and has been playing for 15 years. “It’s a part of my life now,” he says.

Woyczyński’s impact on Cahoy has been deep and lasting, well beyond the tennis court. “I can’t stop telling stories about Professor Wojbor to my kids, and to my family in the Philippines,” says Cahoy, now associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Houston– Downtown. “I got where I am today because of him.”

Indirectly, Cahoy’s students also reap the benefits of Woyczyński’s mentorship. He learned from his advisor that education is more than just the transfer of knowledge—it is also about building relationships. Even after Cahoy had left Case Western Reserve, Woyczyński would reach out, making sure he was on track for tenure, for example. It came as a surprise to Cahoy when he learned that his peers in the field of mathematics rarely had any contact with their advisors after graduation. “Once they finished their PhDs, that was it,” Cahoy says. “But Professor Wojbor was different. He liked to pursue these lifelong relationships that go beyond work—that go beyond ordinary.”

Dan Morrell is a writer and editor living outside of Boston.