DePaul University Economics Instructor Ashok Batavia, 52, of Evanston, an advocate for international business education who won multiple teaching awards during his 20-year tenure on DePaul, died Jan. 8 after a long battle with lung cancer.

“Ashok will be remembered for his extraordinary ability to relate to students,” said his brother, Bala Batavia, an economics professor at DePaul since 1976, who introduced Ashok to the university. “They loved him, and he was an excellent teacher.”

A native of Madras, India, Batavia attended Catholic schools and later earned a mathematics degree from the University of Madras in 1975. He moved to the United States in 1977 to continue his studies at DePaul, where he earned an MBA in 1979 and a master’s degree in accounting in 1981.

Following in his brother’s footsteps, he joined DePaul’s economics faculty as an instructor in 1986 while pursuing doctoral studies at Northern Illinois University.

“While I’m more introverted, he was outgoing,” Bala fondly recalled about his brother. “He was very friendly and got to know everyone at the university. About a week after he came, people started coming up to me and saying, ‘You must be Ashok’s brother,’ even though I had been at DePaul before him.”

Batavia did not complete his doctoral degree and held the title of instructor throughout his career at DePaul, but this did not stop him from excelling as a teacher, said Michael Miller, chairman of Economics department. “The title ‘instructor’ does not capture the unique and important contribution Ashok made to the university,” Miller said. “He taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, with a specialization in international economics. He excelled in the classroom and was one of the most popular instructors with students.”

During his two decades at DePaul, Batavia received three business school teaching awards. In 1989 he received the Lawrence Ryan Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award from the College of Commerce. In 2004, DePaul’s weekend MBA students voted him the Teacher of the Year. He received the Gus Economos Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in 2005. “This was quite an honor because only one among approximately 120 faculty members is chosen by students for each of these awards annually,” his brother, Bala, observed proudly.

In addition to his teaching prowess, Batavia’s international expertise and fluency in six languages helped DePaul’s international business education programs flourish. He served as executive director of the university’s MBA program in international marketing and finance from 1997 to 1998 and was associate director of the Driehaus Center for International Business in 1997. He led international business seminars for DePaul students to Germany, France, Chile, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa. His wide range of international contacts allowed him to find and place DePaul students in internships throughout the world, with companies that include McDonalds, Lufthansa, Pfizer, Sun Micro Systems, Motorola, Citibank, Coca Cola and many others.

“When Ashok participated in DePaul’s MBA program in Bahrain, he not only taught, but also became DePaul’s ambassador to our partners in the kingdom,” Miller said. “Recently he participated in a distance learning experiment at the graduate school, where he was described by his colleagues as the program’s star.”

Ashok’s remarkable dedication to DePaul students continued into the autumn term of the current academic year, while he battled the spread of cancer throughout his body. “He was so proud on that final day of the quarter to be able to show up with a smile on his face and give his lecture,” Miller said. “The loss to the department and DePaul students with the passing of this fine man and educator is enormous.”

Batavia is survived by his wife of 18 years, Martha (Huebner) Batavia; his brother Bala Batavia; nephew Tejas Batavia, and numerous relatives in India. DePaul will host a remembrance gathering Jan. 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the DePaul Club, 11th Floor, DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd. In lieu of flowers, Batavia requested before his death that donations be made in support of poor, elderly widows in India. Memorial contributions may be sent to Economics Professor James Ciecka, 330 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60604.

Note to Editors: Bala Batavia may be reached at 312/799-1598 (cell); Michael Miller may be reached at 630/234-2514 (cell). An electronic photo of Batavia is available from Robin Florzak, director of media relations, who may be reached at 312/362-8592.

Photo of Ashok Batavia.