Middle Tennessee professor from Columbia State Community College dead in Brazil
A Columbia State Community College professor, accompanying 12 students from across Tennessee on a study-abroad trip to Brazil, died after a large wave hit the teacher and three students.
Brazil authorities and search and rescue crews worked since Thursday to locate Clifford Gordon, who was swept out into the water. Columbia State Community College spokesperson Amy Spears said they received word Monday morning that his body was found and recovered.
"We were heartbroken to hear of this tragic accident,” said Dr. Janet F. Smith, Columbia State Community College president. “We are thankful that no students were seriously injured. Our college family mourns the loss of Clifford, who was a talented artist and greatly loved by his students. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and students.”
Gordon and a dozen students — from Pellissippi State, Columbia State, Walters State and Southwest Tennessee Community College — left May 6 for a three week tour studying art in Brazil, according to a Monday email from Rick Locker, a spokesman for the College System of Tennessee.
Gordon and three students, two from Pellissippi State and one from Walters State, were walking along an oceanside road near Paraty, Brazil, and stopped to take a picture when the wave hit, Locker said.
Two of the students were taken to a medical center and released. The third student was treated on site, Locker said.
"All three are safe," Locker said.
The students left Paraty Sunday and will board a flight home from Rio de Janeiro. They are scheduled to be back in Tennessee Tuesday, Locker said.
"The students have been offered counseling services, which will continue when they are back in Tennessee," Locker said.
Gordon held an Associates Degree in art from Chattanooga State Community College, a Bachelor's Degree in art from Tennessee State University and a Master's Degree in studio art from the Memphis College of Art.
He began working for Columbia State Community College in 2008 as an adjunct professor in the Humanities and Social Sciences division, Spears said. He began working full-time in 2013 and taught Intro to Visual Arts, Art History, Painting, Drawing, Printmaking and Foundation Studio.
"He was also a talented artist and had numerous exhibitions throughout the state," Spears said. "Clifford was known for producing amazing works of collage and painting to draw the viewer into a world informed by various ideas, traditions and modern discourses. In addition, Clifford traveled to Brazil many summers and taught himself how to speak Portuguese."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Middle Tennessee professor from Columbia State found dead in Brazil
