WHITEWATER-UW-Whitewater professor Paula "P.B." Poorman didn't know the 19-year-old Madison woman accused of claiming her life June 27.
The woman is suspected of driving drunk at 120 mph before her vehicle and Poorman's collided on Interstate 90/39 north of Edgerton.
But if their paths had crossed before the crash, Poorman would have reached out to help the young woman deal with her problems, said Mary Pinkerton, dean of UW-Whitewater's College of Letters and Sciences.
It was Poorman's nature to take struggling or troubled students under her wing, Pinkerton said.
She always stood up for the underdog, Pinkerton said.
Paula Poorman
Poorman, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
Samantha J. Young has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide and homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.
Poorman's death is a "huge loss" for the "campus family," Interim Chancellor Richard Telfer wrote in a letter posted on the UW-Whitewater Web site.
In a Web site book of remembrance, students and alumni tell of their loss and share memories of the "witty" and "inspiring" professor, who always listened and guided students along their paths.
For Meghan Thongnuam, one of the many students who wrote in the memory book, Poorman's death was difficult to accept.
"I sit here in shock and near disbelief," Thongnuam said. "There was something about Dr. Poorman that made me sign up for her classes again and again. I felt really close to her. She always teased me about my juicy face. She was one of my only professors who I ever felt close to, a mentor."
Poorman began her teaching career at UW-Whitewater in 1996. She taught classes on the psychology of women, abnormal psychology and field training in psychology.
Poorman recently was named a full professor.
"It was something she really worked hard for," Pinkerton said.
She was a dynamic and original faculty member with a great sense of humor and a deep commitment to diversity, Pinkerton said.
It was Poorman's passion for teaching and her intelligence that "set her apart from the pack," Andrew Cole, a UW-Whitewater alumni, wrote in the book of remembrance.
As a teacher, Poorman had a natural ability to concentrate energy, compassion and joy into whatever she was doing, said her life partner, Susan Simmons.
"It didn't matter if she was in front of a class or meeting individual students," Simmons said. "She lit up a room when she walked into it. She approached everything with energy and joy."
Although Poorman had worked clinically as a psychologist, teaching was her love, Simmons said.
She encouraged students to excel beyond their original visions, Simmons said.
As a Madison resident, Poorman was a regular I-90 commuter.
She didn't mind the drive, and often listened to books recorded on CD, Simmons said.
Early this week, someone placed flowers in the Interstate median near the scene of the accident, Pinkerton said.
"It will be impossible to replace her," Cole said.
