I was a student at SUNY in some of his classes, then arranged for him to be a mentor in one of my Empire State College contracts, a course in Biochemistry of Nutrition and Food. He was a good teacher, and inspirational. I am now teaching Nutrition on the college level! Michelle Hamilton Scott

I had the opportunity to know Dr. Hochberg for over 30 years. I met him during my early days as the secretary in the Arts & Science Department. He would always go out of his way to make conversation – something I always enjoyed. More recently, he was my testing buddy. He would come to get tested every week in the Campus Center gym and come looking for me. We would go through the whole process and he commented many, many times how thankful he was for the testing team at SUNY Poly. So very sad to hear of his...

As an Adjunct Lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences, I had an office near his and sometimes we would talk about books we were reading. He even read a book I suggested to him and we discussed it a little. His outstanding quality was the kindness he expressed in his tone of voice and his gaze. I never met a kinder man.

I took Advanced Physiology in 2009 with Dr. Hochberg. I probably could not tell you much about the physiology I learned but I can vividly remember the great professor who taught it. I remember him writing equations on the board and having such a passion for what he was talking about. He broke the course down and made it “doable”. But what I remember most was the kind of person that I feel very lucky to have crossed paths with. He seemed so interested in “life” and talking about current events. At the time there was the H1NI pandemic. He...

I knew Mike for about 30 years and always found his to be the voice of reason. He calmly addressed all of my fears and concerns when I was a young academic, reassuring me in a voice that left me feeling fortified and confident. It should be noted that when Mike was dean he played a pivotal role in saving the School of Arts and Sciences when an attempt was made to consolidate the schools and reduce the responsibilities of the deans. In response, Mike, along with other deans, stepped down in protest and returned to full-time teaching, his first...

Mike was in my search committee when I joined SUNY POLY as an assistant professor. From the very beginning, I felt comfortable working with him in the same department. He had a very pleasing personality. He would always come to my office and share his thoughts about family, education, and about the world. He was a professor with full dedication towards SUNY POLY.

Trying to sum up how Mike Hochberg was such a vibrant, important part of our campus’ fabric in a brief contribution is difficult–kind of like having a ‘short’ conversation with Mike was! If Mike caught your eye in the hallway, you would realize pretty quickly that you’d have to dedicate a little time to explore the ideas and insights that would emerge in the discussion. This was not always easy for me to appreciate, especially once I became a working parent trying to cram in as much activity as I could while on campus–but on balance, Mike’s dedication to making...

Michael would gab with me in the afternoons. This past Fall he knew that his health was not so good and think that’s why he related some stories from back when he was around 20 (and had no fear of death). Spoke regularly with him about science and liberal politics, but these were something completely different: those days he was a head lifeguard in South Chicago in charge of a lot of swimming pools, and always trying to make deals with gang leaders for swimming times and rules around pools. Those days South Chicago folk tended not to be good...

Michael was the interim dean when I was hired at SUNY(IT)Poly. I was welcomed with open arms and treated like family. He was often in my office (I think he liked the couch!) talking with me… conversations ranged in topic but he always made me laugh or smile. He would speak of his family often and how much he loved them. I know that he thought of his colleagues as family too and he loved us as much as we loved him. He was a good mentor, colleague, and friend… and I will miss him very much!

Mike was one of the people that hired me. I worked 34 years with the Science department. He became a great friend. So many long talks. Field trips with his classes. Hikes with the Arts and Science faculty and our families. Picnics and Science Club gatherings. Laughing at the times we fell into the mud, bogs and creeks or watching students surprise snakes, or holding toads. Yes, good memories. He and Val were great people and I was lucky to know them. Our family will miss them.

As a new member of the Poly community, I feel so fortunate to have had an afternoon with Dr. Hochberg a few weeks back. He was welcoming, funny, insightful, and deeply dedicated to Poly and its students. I was so looking forward to a continuing dialogue with him, and will miss the opportunity to both enjoy and benefit from that….but extremely grateful to have known him if even for a short while.

If it weren’t for Dr. Hochburg, I’d still be in an abusive household and probably still use self harm as a coping mechanism. But Dr. Hochburg was the only person who noticed and spoke up. Dr. Hochburg was the first person to show that he genuinely cared about me and reached out. I remember Dr. Hochburg asked if I could speak with him privately and told me I didn’t smile as much anymore and that my grades were going down so he was worried about me. It was hard to talk about what was going on but he knew and...