Mark taught for the Math Department as adjunct faculty for many years and in Fall 2021 came on board as full-time faculty. He passed away on December 30, 2021.

Mark was known for his passion for teaching and for the warmth of his personality. Many of us will have memories to share, which we plan to post on our website. From Department Head Ambar Sengupta: “I had extensive conversations with Mark well before coming to UConn and he was kind enough to send me a lot of helpful information about the area. Earlier this month I ran into Mark in a near-empty Monteith building, and we had a pleasant chat. He was thinking of writing a song for an event we talked about.”

Mark, you will be deeply missed!

MARK NAIGLES

by Stuart Sidney, 01/01/2022

Mark Naigles was not only a close friend, but in many ways he was my soulmate.

As a first illustration, let me quote from his brief online statement “About me”: “I worked as an Actuary for 19 years until I saw the light and became a professor.”  At first glance, that appears very different from my trajectory, since when I entered college I already was planning a Math major and a likely career in academe.  However, before that I had many very different careers in mind, and only late in my senior year of high school did I realize that I had been doing math for fun since I was a little kid, so of course…

Mark and I were both pre-programmed to end up being financial officers in practically any organization we joined — Beth El Congregation of Mansfield anyone?

We had similar senses of humor.  Word play was a big part of that.  A particular manifestation was the creation of humorous songs to toast and/or roast various individuals. And like so many others, we delighted in the songs of Tom Lehrer, and knew many of them by heart.

I will sorely miss Mark.