Beloved professor and local supporter of the arts Mike Shea died over the weekend, roughly two weeks after an e-bike rider who ran a red light in Westville crashed into him and fled the scene.
Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), where 74-year-old Shea had long served as an English professor, notified students of his passing on Saturday.
Friends, former students, and colleagues have since taken to social media to share cherished memories of Shea and the mark he made on their lives.
Shea was struck by an e-bike on Friday, Oct. 9, while crossing Whalley Avenue by West Rock Avenue outside Lyric Hall at 827 Whalley Ave. He had attended Lyric Hall’s screening of Karyl K. Evans’ documentary “The New Haven Green: Heart of a City.”
Afterward, Shea entered the marked crosswalk outside the theater and antique shop. The e-bike operator, who was traveling north on Whalley, passed the vehicles stopped at the signal on the right and continued through the intersection. The e-bike operator fled the scene on Fountain Street toward Central Avenue. Shea was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital with serious injuries.
New Haven police have released some photos of the bike operator and are asking for tips to aid in his arrest.
New Haven Police Department (NHPD) spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart told the Independent that an arrest has not yet been made in the case. He said that anyone who might have any relevant information should contact the NHPD’s detective division at (203) 946-6304. He also confirmed that the e-bike doesn’t appear to be a rentable Ride New Haven e-bike (see photos).
At the time of the crash, New Haven Police Chief David Zannelli told the Independent regarding Shea crossing the street, “As far as I know, he was doing everything right.”
In Saturday’s email addressed to the SCSU community, Interim President Sandy Bulmer wrote, “Mike was a dedicated colleague and friend whose warmth, humor, and generosity touched the lives of students and colleagues over decades. His contributions to our university and the relationships he built over the years will remain an important part of our Southern community.”
English Department Chair Cindy Stretch was also quoted on behalf of the department: “For decades, Mike has been a walking, talking reminder of what’s best about this place: the way we teach, the way we ask questions, the way we care for one another. There was not a cynical bone in his body.
“Mike showed us what service to our students, to our colleagues, and to our university could be and why it matters. And he taught his students that there was nothing more exciting than learning to understand what they didn’t think they could. He will be so deeply missed by his friends and by the legions of students whose lives he touched.”
Shea’s friend and former SCSU English Department colleague George Rosso submitted a writeup to the Independent, describing decades of friendship that began over a shared love for the arts — particularly Bob Dylan. (Rosso’s reminiscence can be read in full below.)
“I met Mike in 1987 and we bonded immediately over Bob Dylan. Mike saw Dylan at least 20 times. He owned almost every lp, cassette, cd, bootleg, and live performance. One of the great experiences of his life was seeing Dylan live at Toads in 1990 for a special 4-hr show. He was one of 700 people. He said a great thrill was Dylan looking him in the eyes when he sang ‘It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,’” Rosso wrote.
He said that Shea loved Ray Davies of The Kinks, and that he used their song “Lola” to teach irony. Shea loved irony, he said. “One semester, he taught Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and didn’t show up for class. Humor was essential to Mike. A lifeblood for him.”
“For the four decades I knew and loved Mike, I marveled at his capacity to reach students, to devote himself entirely to them, and to make an enduring difference in their lives,” Rosso wrote. “It was typical of Mike that as a teacher of Shakespeare, he focused on learning the plays as performances on a stage, as a living script. Mike lived to instill a love in students, future teachers, for thinking in words, and for bringing the Bard’s speeches to life for real audiences.”
And, Rosso wrote, Shea did nothing halfheartedly.
Another friend and colleague of Shea’s for 32 years, Tim Parrish, took to Facebook to express his grief. (Read Parrish’s full post below as well.)
“Mike consumed art and experience with joy, curiosity, and eagerness to share how rich his experience was. Three movies in a row? No sweat. Two plays in NYC in a night? Why didn’t NYC schedule better so he could see a third? Dylan playing? Why not see him a minimum of seventy times?” Parrish wrote.
“Mike was fun! His laugh was forged in the same prank furnace that forged the Marx Brothers, Keaton, the Three Stooges, Gilda Radner, Lucille Ball and every other great comedian or humorist you can name. He embraced the raucous, trickster spirit of original punk, never stinting in silliness and creative disruptiveness. I can’t count the meetings with students he punctuated by giving an insane pig’s squeal as he passed my office.”
Parrish wrote of Shea’s dedication to his students, whom he demanded the best from and taught to “think and read and write.”
“Mike was the most devoted teacher I’ve ever known, and I say this from a constellation of phenomenal teachers,” Parrish wrote. “He leaves not a hole, but a kind of desert in my heart, but it won’t last. Mike was the Johnny Appleseed of love, care, activism, and creativity, and what he sowed will keep sprouting forever.”
Parrish’s Facebook post had racked up more than 200 comments by late afternoon Monday, full of former students and colleagues who shared memories with Shea.
One commenter recalled being interviewed by Shea for her first course as the instructor of record. She confessed she had struggled in undergrad and remembered his face brightening as he told her the university needed people like her. “I have never forgotten that almost 15 years later,” she wrote.
“I had Shea for semesters of Shakespeare, and he was one of the most challenging professors I ever had. He challenged and he pushed, but his doing so, allowed me to become a teacher who wasn’t afraid to teach Shakespeare,” wrote another commenter.
“Professor Shea made such an impact on me in the courses I took of his at SCSU, he always made time to meet with students and encouraged me to pursue my writing and art. His courses were some of my favorites!” wrote a third.
Neighbors have long advocated for a Whalley Avenue that is safer for pedestrians. Since that bike crashed into Shea earlier this month, the Westville/West Hills Community Management Team devoted a recent meeting at Lyric Hall to discussing pedestrian safety along Whalley Avenue.
According to Lyric Hall owner John Cavaliere, attendees suggested crosswalk improvements, like flashing pedestrian lights and a raised traffic table; engineered traffic safety improvements and coordination among city and state agencies, as Whalley is a state-owned road; and improved transit planning to reduce traffic volumes and congestion