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It is with great sadness we share that Dr. Paul Luebke died Oct. 29.

He had been a member of the Department of Sociology at UNCG since 1976. He began teaching at UNCG after spending time teaching at Tougaloo College and at UNC Chapel Hill. Here at UNCG, he taught courses in political sociology, media, social movements and international social problems.

He was a public sociologist, actively engaged in sharing his knowledge of the political structure with others. He was a frequent presenter at the Mid-South Sociological Society and Southern Sociological Society annual conferences. He was consistently quoted in and interviewed for North Carolina newspapers and the Associated Press.

Through Dr. Luebke, many students learned about the political side of sociology, particularly North Carolina government. He was known as an informative instructor by his students, with whom he easily shared his knowledge.

A former graduate student and now current lecturer in Sociology, Aneliese Dar, said, “Paul taught me that people always matter first and foremost. … Prioritizing education is worth nothing if we don’t prioritize the person we hope to educate.”

Since 1991, Luebke had been a member of the North Carolina General Assembly. In July 2016, he was honored for serving 25 years in the North Carolina Legislature.

He was also the author of two books about North Carolina politics, “Tar Heel Politics: Myths and Realities” (1990) and “Tar Heel Politics 2000” (1998), and wrote several book chapters on the topic of politics in the South.

“He will be greatly missed at UNCG and in the scholarly community,” his longtime UNCG colleague William Markham said.

Our sincere condolences are with his family, friends and colleagues.