As per your request I’m including a few thoughts/reflections on Tom during my time at SIU,1979-1982.

Tom is a remarkable artist and mentor.  What I experienced, with Tom as an advisor, during three critical years at Carbondale has continued to inspire, guide and sustain me both creatively and in life. His deep passion for Art (particularly Sculpture), artists and the processes of “making” was an essential, formative force at a moment which helped me discover and understand more of who I was.

He always showed a great respect and generosity towards all the graduate students in the program. I am still astonished at his ability to interact with such a disparate group of sentiments. This is a testament to his astonishing success as an artist and educator.

His tremendous depth of understanding of the history of art and culture (albeit a bit biased towards Italy and Italians) helped inform him and served to continually infuse important questions/challenges in our many discussions.

The sheer energy needed to achieve his prolific output of work, both in Sculpture and Drawing, is quite breathtaking.

He demonstrated his commitment to excellence, on a daily basis, through deeds rather than words. The courage of his convictions was evident to all. Having personally observed a number of programs (some with “strong” reputations) over many years, I find Tom is unexcelled as a mentor and educator.  Words will  always be inadequate to express the deep gratitude I always feel for Tom.