Nicholas Allocca, a professor in the Center for Leadership Education at Hopkins, died of an apparent heart attack on Wednesday, Sept. 12. He was 54 years old.
Allocca began teaching at Hopkins in 2000. He split his time between two part-time teaching positions at Hopkins and at his alma mater, the University of Maryland at College Park. In addition to his demanding teaching schedule, he was also a full-time writer.
One of his novels, Enemies, was published in 1988 by Berkley Books. He had also been seeking publication of two additional books. Allocca's work has been published in the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
Allocca received both his B.S. in Journalism and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland at College Park. As a teacher, he enjoyed splitting his time between two universities he cared deeply about. While his teaching career at the University of Maryland spanned 12 years, he had grown fond of Hopkins during his seven years here. "He always said, 'It's such a pleasure to teach here,'" said his colleague Marybeth Camerer, administrative manager at the Center for Leadership Education. "He really enjoyed the atmosphere at Hopkins."
Allocca had a variety of interests and passions. He loved music and played bass, guitar and drums. Allocca was also very interested in building and renovating houses. He put himself through college working for a construction company. He loved the outdoors and particularly liked to fish. An avid reader and expert movie buff, he was always interested in what everyone had been reading or watching lately. "I would ask him for recommendations for books," Camerer said. "We talked a lot about the film business as well." He was an extremely disciplined man, and he juggled his many obligations and interests seamlessly. "He was so responsive to anything we needed," Camerer said. "I often said to him, 'I wish everyone was like you.' He really was a wonderful colleague."
"Nick lived life with gusto," said Eric Rice, a friend and colleague at the University of Maryland, whom Allocca successfully encouraged to pursue a teaching career at Hopkins. "He had a lovely sense of humor."
Allocca was seen as personable and outgoing by his students as well as his colleagues. He taught three sections of Technical Communication to a total of 60 Hopkins undergraduates. While one of his sections is being taught by another professor, it is unclear at this point whether the other two sections will have replacement professors or will be canceled. Allocca's incoming students were very distressed to hear the news of his sudden passing. Even though he had only met with his new students once, he had already left quite an impression on them. "I was so shocked," junior Jane Chisholm said. "He seemed like such a dynamic professor, and I was really looking forward to taking his class."
He was known among his students for his boundless energy and sense of humor. "Professor Allocca always kept the classroom atmosphere light and fun," junior Dan Merzel said. "His sense of humor made going to class enjoyable and kept all of the students interested in the material."
Junior Nikki Ross echoed the sentiment. "Professor Allocca was one of the coolest professors I've had at Johns Hopkins," she said. Allocca's individualized teaching style and personability were a breath of fresh air for his students. He kept students engaged, despite long sessions in the classroom. "I wouldn't mind sitting through his three-hour lectures because he had so many stories to tell and kept the class entertained."
"He catered his class to every individual in the room and was willing to take extra time to make sure his students learned as much as possible," Merzel said.
Two ceremonies will be held for Allocca today, Thursday, Sept. 20 at Gasch's Funeral Home in Hyattsville, Md. It is located at 4739 Baltimore Ave. and the services will be held from 2. to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A mass of Christian burial will take place at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 21 at St. Jerome's Catholic Church, located at 5205 43rd Ave. in Hyattsville. Donations may be made to the Jimenez-Porter Writers' House in Allocca's memory.
"Professor Allocca will be greatly missed here at Hopkins. He was a great guy ... he always had a smile on his face," Ross said.
