Dr. Steve Adisasmito-Smith, an associate professor of English, passed away on July 10. He was 57.

Adisasmito-Smith died in an unexpected accident while on a family trip in Hawaii. According to his friend Keith Ford, who first notified the University and was with him at the time, Adisasmito-Smith drowned while trying to save their children from treacherous waters.

A specialist in world literatures, Adisasmito-Smith was an expert on mythology, folklore and ancient Sanskrit writing in translation. He taught at Fresno State from 2003 to 2022.

According to Dr. Honora Chapman, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Adisasmito-Smith was “a truly humane humanist” whose facility with languages such as Sanskrit made him an invaluable scholar and resource for colleagues and intrepid students.

“We are all heartbroken,” Chapman said. “Steve’s capacious gift for sharing the beauty and wisdom in global literature stretching back millennia has helped Fresno State students see that they, in all their diversity, are part of a much larger and fascinating story of humanity.”

Dr. Lisa Weston, professor of English and former department chair, said Adisasmito-Smith was one of the most exemplary scholars at Fresno State.

“His linguistic and literary work on Sanskrit poetry, including his works of translation of under-recognized and marginalized texts, opened and continues to open the field in fundamentally revolutionary ways,” Weston said.

More importantly, Weston said, Adisasmito-Smith was “one of the kindest and most caring teachers on campus.”

“He led student after student to breakthroughs they could hardly have foreseen,” Weston said. “He cared deeply and passionately about teaching and about how education affected his students’ intellectual and emotional lives.”

Adisasmito-Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Niken Adisasmito-Smith, who teaches in Fresno State’s Linguistics Department; their children, Narayana and Krishnananda Adisasmito-Smith; mother Barbara Brunskill; brother Michael Smith; and sister Teresa Mack.

There will be no funeral services. A celebration of life will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 inside the Wahlberg Recital Hall in Fresno State's Music Building. (Free parking with coupon code 264401.) The family encourages attendees to bring an artifact — a photo, a drawing, a poem, etc. — with a brief memory of Adisasmito-Smith included, to be collected for a memorial scrapbook.

To read a full remembrance story about Adisasmito-Smith and for information regarding a celebration of life, visit the College of Arts and Humanities blog. The family encourages attendees to bring an artifact — a photo, a drawing, a poem, etc. — with a brief memory of Adisasmito-Smith included, to be collected for a memorial scrapbook.