Those who worked with Charles Wright agree he was a professor with a passion for teaching.

Wright, 58, university professor of electrical and computer engineering, was killed in a car accident Tuesday just outside Eldora.

S. S. Mani Venkata, professor and chairman of electrical and computer engineering, said Wright loved working with undergraduate students.

“He has been primarily instrumental for strengthening the undergraduate computer engineering program at the national level,” Venkata said. “It’s a very visible and highly rated program, ranked ninth in the nation.”

Wright received many accolades for his devotion to student learning, Venkata said.

“He’s called a university professor, which is an honorary title; he won three times Outstanding Computer Engineering Professor Award, and he also won a Miller Fellowship award,” he said.

The late professor worked hard to get more females involved in engineering, Venkata said.

“He was also very deeply committed to bringing more women students to engineering programs,” he said. “He also did that at the high school and middle school levels.”

Larry Genalo, associate professor of material science and engineering, taught “Toying with Technology” with Wright. The class was aimed at education majors.

He said working with Wright was “always lively.”

“There was always activity, things going on, students coming in. He was a great believer in active learning, with students doing projects instead of just listening to a lecture,” he said.

Genalo said Wright was a student mentor, particularly with students in the Program for Women in Science and Engineering.

“He was absolutely devoted to his students. He was an excellent teacher and really passed up no chance to be with his students,” he said. “When [faculty] would complain about a heavy courseload, he would always volunteer to teach another class.”

Wright was a nationally known educator, Genalo said. The two of them worked together for seven years on Synthesis, a national coalition on improving engineering education.

Erika Sherer, senior in mechanical engineering, worked with Wright as an undergraduate research assistant for almost five years.

“He was the kind of man that people would notice,” she said. “He taught me a lot about electrical and computer engineering, working with people, some of the philosophies he had.”

Sherer said she appreciated how Wright always gave her honest answers to her questions.

“I liked his honesty. I always knew if something was right or wrong,” she said.

She said Wright was well-liked by students of all ages.

“When we would go out and work with elementary students, they would just cling to him,” Sherer said. “They just loved him, and that was a wonderful thing to see.”

Venkata said the other electrical and computer engineering professors enjoyed working with Wright.

“He was a very lively and very compassionate individual, and faculty loved him,” he said. “He was a true colleague in the sense of making everybody laugh and feel comfortable.”