Brian Taylor says his former political science colleague, Laurence Thomas, didn't greet him in the corridors of Maxwell and Eggers halls the way most did, with a simple “hello.”

Instead, Thomas would shout, “‘How are you being brilliant today?’” recalled Taylor, who also directs the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

That's but one of many anecdotes about Thomas fondly remembered by Taylor, fellow colleagues and alumni in recent weeks.

Thomas, professor emeritus of political science and philosophy at Maxwell and the College of Arts and Sciences, passed away on Dec. 27 at age 76.

“He was a legendary teacher who packed lecture halls with students eager to go on a philosophical journey with him,” said Taylor. “As a teacher and a scholar, he asked big questions about topics such as morality, friendship and the family.”

A respected political and moral philosopher, Thomas authored four books and more than 80 articles, including the essay “Being Moral and Handling the Truth.”

After earning a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1976, he held faculty appointments at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Maryland and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, along with visiting appointments at the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia, Harvard University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Thomas joined Syracuse in 1989 and was named the University’s Scholar-Teacher of the Year just four years later. At the time, Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw described him as “a recognized thinker and writer in the field of ethics and social thought” who “has cut a wide and deep swath at Syracuse as a teacher of the first rank,” according to The Syracuse Record.

Stuart Thorson, professor emeritus of political science, remembered telling Thomas about music he liked. The following day, Thomas brought him a cassette tape of similar music he’d made for him.

“Laurence was, no surprise, a terrific colleague—smart, funny, insightful, optimistic and always generous with his time,” said Thorson. “He was always fully present even in casual conversation.”

Audie Klotz, professor of political science, agreed.  During department meetings, she always sits in the “Laurence Thomas Memorial Chair,” his favorite seat for such meetings until his retirement.

A 2007 Daily Orange article about Thomas shared that he was known for memorizing the names of every student in his 200-person lectures and for pushing them to engage in class, even encouraging them to shout across the room. He occassionally played the music of rapper Snoop Dogg during lectures. He also wrote personal letters of appreciation, known as “Pillars of Excellence,” to his “best and brightest students.”

In the same Daily Orange article, Thomas shared one of his career highlights: an opportunity to speak at the VeerStichting Conference in the Netherlands, an event attended by then-Queen of the Netherlands Queen Beatrix. Thomas said he memorized a few Dutch phrases to open his talk as a sign of gratitude.

“That audience roared,” he told the student newspaper, “You’d have thought I was a pop star.”