Every now and then, you find one of those people whose knowledge is so extensive you can’t help but shake your head and wonder if you’ll ever know as much about anything as he does about his field.

Rarely, you meet someone whose contagious charisma and enthusiasm drive everyone to him, motivating underlings, colleagues and superiors alike.

And once in a very great while, you might encounter a person whose genuine interest, compassion and concern inspire those around him to become better, not only at what they do, but at who they are.

In NIU’s English department, Professor Gustaaf Van Cromphout has all three.

Yes, the Belgian-born Van Cromphout speaks or translates more than 10 languages, and it’s not unusual for him to enlighten a classroom discussion by going to the chalkboard and tracing a word back to its ancient Greek or Latin root.

Yes, he specializes in American transcendentalism, and is a well-rounded scholar.

He can pull from memory long quotations from texts in transcendentalism and other areas of literature, often to jaw-dropped admiration from his students.

And yes, he’s been teaching at NIU for 36 years – longer than most of his students have been alive.

But the numbers tell only a small part of the impact Van Cromphout has had on generations of students and colleagues.

Nearly every person in the English department has a story about him – many more than I have the space to print (although it might be nice if a couple of them made it to the “Your Voices” section of the Star).

For one woman who graduated from NIU, memories of Van Cromphout’s classroom and personality motivated her to return to NIU to pursue her master’s degree.

For former Star columnist Leah Kind, who received her master’s in English from NIU in 2004, Van Cromphout’s kindness sets him apart.

“I remember a girl in our program had signed up for too many classes and had to drop his after the first day,” Kind said. “But for the next two years, every time he saw her in the hall, he said hello and asked her how school was going. That after one day of one class – he cared that much.”

Although in three-plus years as a graduate student here I’d never formally met Van Cromphout, he’s always had a smile and “hello” for me in the halls.

I was eager to start my first class with him this fall.

Last weekend, while out for an evening walk, Van Cromphout fell backward and hit his head.

He was rushed to St. Anthony’s Medical Center in Rockford where doctors discovered he had experienced a massive brain hemorrhage.

At press time he remains unconscious and in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Get-well cards and e-mails have poured in to the hospital as Van Cromphout’s friends, colleagues and students – past and present – have rallied around him.

In an e-mail to the department, one senior faculty member expressed a view shared by many:

“The Gustaaf I know is a tough fighter and if there is any chance of recovery, he’ll do it.”

Until then, the many lives he has touched – my own included – struggle through our thoughts and prayers to repay some measure of the kindness, caring and belief that he has for so long demonstrated to – and inspired in – all of us.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.