Sharaf Rehman, 72, communication professor

Brigitte Ortiz | THE RIDER

Sharaf Rehman, a communication professor at UTRGV and legacy institution University of Texas at Brownsville, died March 4 while driving from Brownsville to Florida. He was 72.

Rehman was born in 1948 in India. He was the eldest of five children and developed a passion for photography and film at a young age, according to his obituary on Ever Loved. 

He graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1981 with a master’s in education media. In 1984, he graduated from the University of Toledo with an education specialist postgraduate degree in curriculum and instruction (education media). He received a master’s of business administration in 1986 from West Texas State University and a doctorate in mass communication from Bowling Green State University in 1987.

He began teaching at UT-Brownsville and served as chair of the Communication department from 2008 to 2012.

At UTRGV, he taught interpersonal communication, mass media management and introduction to mass communication, among other courses.

From August 2017 to October 2018, Rehman served as faculty adviser to UTRGV Radio, now Vaquero Radio.

Over the course of his life, Rehman’s passion became his chosen field of work. According to Ever Loved obituary, he used to say, “It’s not work when it’s something you love, therefore follow your passion and life will be much easier.”

Jennifer Lemanski, professor and chair of the department of Communication, said she had known Rehman since UTRGV came into existence in 2015. 

“Dr. Rehman was extremely supportive of me,” Lemanski said. “He was often making appointments to check in with me and see if there was anything he could do to help in the department. He had been a chair himself, so he knew it was kind of a tough job across two campuses.

“So, he was always thinking of other people and seeing how he could help them. I am super grateful for all of the support and check-ins that he gave to me and the friendship and mentorship that he gave me.” 

She said he was an involved colleague and gave opinions on how to make things better for the students and the department. 

“He had so many plans, even though he had already accomplished so much in his career…

“He was a pretty innovative and supportive colleague, really a one-of-a-kind colleague that had a great mixture of humor and, you know, staying serious when he needed to be and planning for the future,” Lemanski said. “He had so many plans, even though he had already accomplished so much in his career. … I talked to him the Friday before he passed away, and he had so many plans for the department and so many plans for his own research that he was just one of those colleagues that really gets involved and tries to make things better.”

She said he was educated in many different areas of communication. It was possible for him to jump in and teach any class the department wanted him to teach. 

“He taught photojournalism a lot,” Lemanski said. “He taught interpersonal communication. He taught introduction to communication. Right now, he was teaching a special topic in mass media management. I believe he taught a graduate class regarding films as media a few years ago.”

She said he will be missed as a colleague and support for her and her role as chair. 

William Strong, a professor in the department of Communication, said Rehman was a splendid conversationalist. 

“He listened intently to all that you had to say and shared his own stories and perspectives with animated sincerity and good humor,” Strong told The Rider via email Wednesday. “I’m always going [to] miss his laugh. He laughed so well, with such depth of appreciation for the moment.” 

He said he would go to Rehman’s office, which was next to his, intending to only stay a moment but, before he knew it, 40 minutes would go by. 

“He was always gracious with his time and his expertise in world cultures, and film and theater and literature and poetry,” Strong wrote. “I loved that his own creative works, particularly his plays, had such enthusiastic receptions and huge numbers of readers in far-off lands. He took many of our students on their first trips ever to Europe, and, being a man fluent in several languages, with years of experience living abroad, he was able to give them a unique introduction to the great cities of Europe that they will always treasure.”

Dr. Rehman is survived by his wife, Siv; four sisters and their families.

He was buried Wednesday at Al-Qassam Gardens North in Thonotosassa, Florida.