The University begins summer school without two educational assets. Government and Asian studies associate professor Gordon Bennett, 67, and linguistics professor Carlota S. Smith, 73, died following the end of the spring semester after 35 and 38 years of teaching at the University, respectively.

Bennett died in his home on May 11 from a combination of low blood sugar and heart failure. A specialist in Chinese politics and American foreign policy in East Asia, Bennett served as an adviser in both the Asian studies and government departments as well as an assistant chair in the government department.

He authored four books on China during the 1970s and was the director of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations from 1976 to 1994.

As president of the Cherrywood Neighborhood Association in Austin from 1987 to 1996, Bennett created an e-mail listserv to connect 600 members of the community.

Harold Cook, a political consultant and Cherrywood resident, worked alongside Bennett for the past two years, discussing everything from traffic to foreign politics.

"There wasn't anything of interest to the neighborhood as a community that Gordon wasn't in the middle of," Cook said. "He just seemed to have an unlimited amount of time and dedication to his community."

Bennett, who suffered from diabetes, was in the process of phased retirement at the time of his death. His memorial service took place May 17 at Trinity United Methodist Church. He is survived by his wife Karen and daughters Meaghan and Anna Claire, all of Austin.

Both Bennett's wife and Cook said they remember his humor and lightheartedness.

"He always had a smile on his face," Cook said. "I think life pretty much amused him on a full-time basis."

"To be in political science, I think you need to have an interesting sense of humor, which I think he did," Karen said.

Carlota Smith, a professor in the department of linguistics, died May 24 after fighting cancer for years. During graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she studied with activist Noam Chomsky.

In addition to several articles, she wrote two books, "Modes of Discourse" and "The Parameter of Aspect." She specialized in English, French and Mandarin and served on the Navajo Language Academy board of directors.

Her devotion to her work at the University impressed Richard P. Meier, chair of the linguistics department.

"The most extraordinary thing is that she was in the office until Monday, working with students," Meier said. "She was working very hard until the end, even though she knew she had a terminal illness."

Smith is survived by her husband, University of Texas law professor John Richardson; children, Alison and Joel; and grandchildren, Sylvia and Ari.

The Etter-Harbin Alumni Center will host a memorial service Saturday at 4 p.m.

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