His laundry list of accomplishments on paper could be intimidating to some before they met him in person, and Samantha Nazione was no exception to that. Now a graduate assistant for the Communications Department, Nazione said when she met him for the first time, she was terrified.

“I was terrified to meet this man who was the chair of the department a lot of people can be arrogant and high on themselves, (but) he was so happy and humble and giving toward absolutely everyone else that he was associated with,” Nazione said.

Nazione said Atkin was not one to let work or getting published distract him or his colleagues from what was important in life — people.

“He got that ‘I’m going to work hard, but I’m going to play hard and I’m going to have a life that is about people,” she said. “That’s why he taught so many of us to be proud of our Spartan heritage.”

One of Atkin’s former students, Nicholas Bowman, who is now an assistant professor at West Virginia University, said when he would attend communication conferences yearly, Atkin would always be one of the highlights of the trip, as he would always come equipped with special fabric Spartan badges for all of the alumni to wear.

“I don’t know anyone who could possible be more of a Spartan,” Bowman said.

Bowman said being connected to MSU was something Atkin encouraged his students to do, regardless of the degree level they pursued. Bowman made a Facebook group titled Charles “Chuck” Atkin earlier this week so that friends and family of Atkin could post their favorite memories or feelings.

For Bowman, the group was a way for those who cared about Atkin to grieve and come together, even if they’re not all physically in the same place. He said when he studied under Atkin, he and all of Atkin’s students felt very connected and everyone was like a family.

“One thing about grad school is you don’t feel very close to the university — you’re kind of there for work, you don’t feel very connected to the school, you’re older so you’re not going to football games as much and you’re not doing the whole dorm thing,” Bowman said. “With Chuck it was different; you were a Spartan and you became a part of the family.”

Not only did Atkin teach his students to be proud to be a Spartan, he also brought spirit to the communication department.
College of Communication Arts and Sciences Dean Pamela Whitten expressed her thoughts on Atkin in an email to her college earlier this week.

“Chuck was a dear friend and colleague to so many of us in the communication department, as well as the college,” Whitten said. “He will be missed beyond words.”

Doctoral student Carolyn Lauckner said she met Atkin after working on a research project with Atkin’s wife, Sandi Smith, director of the Health and Risk Communication Center and a professor in the communication department. Lauckner later went on to do more research work with both Atkin and Smith.

“I had this vision of college as being a place where professors wear tweed jackets and require you to call them ‘doctor so-and-so,’” Carolyn Lauckner. “I never in my wildest dreams thought I would find professors like Sandi and Chuck that are so approachable.”

Nazione said she loved Chuck’s sense of humor and some of the quirky things he used to do.

She remembered how he always used to eat toothpaste after smoking his pipe, she said.

“He would put it on his finger and lick it,” Nazione said. “It would be hilarious because you’d go into his office and he’d have toothpaste. He’d do it like he was popping gum or something in a meeting.”

Nazione also remembered a story about Atkin from a few years ago, she said, when the communication department had a Christmas party. Atkin and another party guest both brought cupcakes to the party, she said.

“He put a plate over (the other person’s cupcakes) and put them in the corner so people would eat his cupcakes instead of her cupcakes,” Nazione said, laughing.

But the cupcake story just shows one of Atkin’s many sides, and Smith said he has several.

“On one hand, he was a brilliant scholar and gifted administrator. On the other hand, he was an impish but sweet little boy,” Smith said. “Chuck loved MSU and his department with all his heart.”