It is with great sadness that we share news of the passing of Dr. David Golumbia, an associate professor in the Department of English, on Thursday, September 14. David had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of abdominal cancer this summer, news which he requested be kept private while he worked through various treatment options.
David joined VCU’s Department of English in 2010 and was an expert on cyberlibertarianism, bitcoin, blockchain, and the logic of computing. He was a prolific scholar and the author of "The Politics of Bitcoin" (2016) and "The Cultural Logic of Computation" (2009). He was also an editor of boundary 2 (Duke University Press). His final book, "Cyberlibertarianism," will be published by the University of Minnesota Press in the near future. Several scholars have left beautiful tributes to David online. You can view one from David Gerard here and another from Paris Marx here.
In addition to being a substantial contributor to both the Department of English and a foundational member of the faculty contributing to the Media, Art and Text program, he was a tireless and vocal advocate for faculty self-governance and faculty rights at VCU. His absence will be felt by many in the VCU community.
The obituary from the family notes that David was loved and cherished by many people including: his mother Dr. Linda Golumbia; his father Arthur and Linda Golumbia; his sister Nancy Golumbia (Susan Eachus); his nephew Jacob Golumbia; and his aunts and uncles, Dr. Richard Axelrod, Sherri Tobias (late Charles), Dr. Eugene Axelrod (Charlene) and Dr. Daone Kaufman. He was also cherished by many loving cousins, colleagues, and friends.
You can leave a sympathy message to the family on a memorial page for David.