Longtime St. Thomas professor emeritus Michael Mikolajczak passed away peacefully last weekend, leaving behind a legacy of Shakespearean wit and eccentricity in the English department.

“He’s was a very animated sort,” said Amy Muse, Mikolajczak’s longtime friend and chair of the English department. “A very dramatic person with a wonderful sense of humor. He had a very sharp wit. An older style of wit. A Shakespearean wit.”

Mikolajczak, 64, focused on literature, mostly Shakespeare and Milton, during his 23 years spent teaching in the St. Thomas English department before he retired in 2013. Twice serving as chair of the department, he oversaw major department transitions regarding curriculum and the department’s transfer into the John Roach Center. Close friends say he will be remembered not only for his organizational role, but his vibrant personality and teaching style.

“He loved teaching. He was a very bright person,” said Andy Leet, the administrative assistant for the English Department. “If you wanted a quote from Milton or Shakespeare he could just rattle it off to you. He knew a lot of very specific lines.”

Leet worked closely with Mikolajczak for many years and said his love of literature and language extended beyond the classroom and into editorial letters that Mikolajczak frequently wrote for the Star Tribune.

Beyond the English department, Mikolajczak made an impact on St. Thomas by getting involved in many committees such as faculty senate, the academic council committee, which decided tenure, and the undergraduate curriculum committee.

“He had a huge impact on the St. Thomas community in subtle ways as a teacher and a scholar,” Dean Terry Langan said. “He instilled in his students a love of literature and many more broad ideas.”

His friends and colleagues hope he will be remembered as an excellent professor, an outstanding citizen and a good friend.

Simeon Lancaster can be reached at lanc4637@sthomas.edu