Steven Botterill, a UC Berkeley professor of Italian studies, died at age 60 on May 5. Botterill came to UC Berkeley from England in 1986 to become an assistant professor of Italian studies, according to Albert Russell Ascoli, a professor and colleague of Botterill’s for 23 years in the campus department of Italian studies. He added that Botterill was generous with how much time he spent with students, was well-spoken and had became chair of the department when Ascoli was first hired in 1995.

“He was the kind of professor other professors want to be,” said Mia Fuller, a campus professor of Italian studies, in an email. “His lectures, drawing on his expertise as a Dante scholar but ranging over his many other areas of interest, from American poetry to political biographies, made the room fall quiet and really listen, with maybe a little awe at his smooth transitions, made without notes or apparent prep, and his English accent.”