An Ohio University School of Theater professor died yesterday in a Berlin hospital following a battle with cancer.
Esiaba Irobi, 49, was an associate professor of International Theater at OU since 2002. He was on leave in Berlin, Germany at the time of his death, according to a written statement provided by the School of Theater.
He was a tireless man who never shied away from conflict or struggle with his razor-sharp intellect
deep learning and fierce sense of loyalty and justice William Fisher, Director of the School of Theater said in the statement.
We don't have a lot of details right now about any arrangements said Barbara Fiocchi, administrative assistant to the director of the school. We just sent a small note to our faculty
and we're waiting for more details.
He had been fighting cancer for several years
Fiocchi said, though she did not know exactly what type it was.
Irobi was granted tenure in 2007 after originally being denied. His tenure appeal sparked the creation of a Facebook group supporting him, which became a makeshift memorial for colleagues and former students yesterday.
Irobi was born in 1960 in the Republic of Biafra, a short-lived secessionist state of Nigeria in Africa, according to the School of Theater website. He studied in Nigeria, Britain and the United States and held a PhD in Theatre Studies, according to the site. Irobi first began teaching at OU in 2002.
Irobi had written numerous plays as well as several theater books. Irobi's play Cemetery Road won the World Drama Trust Award in 1992.
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Tristan Navera
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