January 14, 2005

The Professor Who Lost His Classroom

By ROBIN WILSON

In the depths of depression, a historian gave up tenure. Now he wishes he hadn't.

The low point came for Adalberto López one day in the spring of 2001, when he sat on the edge of his bed with a .22-caliber rifle pointed at his temple. He had already separated from his wife, left his tenured job in history at the State University of New York here, and burned 25 years' worth of research notes in his fireplace.

But he couldn't pull the trigger. Instead he put the rifle down,

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