Dead professor had been good spirits
1:15 AM
Posted: Sunday, March 18, 2007
CHADRON, Neb. (AP) -- A professor whose mysterious death is being investigated as a homicide was hospitalized last year for depression, and authorities aren't ruling out suicide.
But professor Steve Haataja's best friend is among those who strongly doubt a depressed mental state is to blame. Haataja's friend of about 15 years, Tim Sorenson, said one thing was clear based on recent correspondence: Haataja was happier than he'd been in years.
"When he went out to Chadron, it was an extremely exciting time for him," said Sorenson, who got to know Haataja when the two taught math at Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Augustana College in the early 1990's, where Sorenson still teaches. During times Haataja was depressed, he would talk to Sorenson and his wife, and he reached out after moving to Chadron in August.
But it wasn't for emotional or mental counsel.
"All his e-mails were upbeat," Sorenson said. "His e-mails were more upbeat as time went on."
After being missing for more than three months, Haataja's body was found March 9, reportedly in a ravine in rugged terrain just outside this town of about 5,600 people.
Authorities aren't talking, but Dawes County Attorney Vance Haug has described the circumstances surrounding his death as "unusual" and the condition of Haataja's body one reason a homicide investigation was being launched. Asked Friday about the condition of the body, a ranch hand who said he stumbled upon it while searching for a runaway steer would only say that he was convinced foul play may have been involved.
Rumors are circulating that Haataja had been bound and burned.
Divorced for more than 10 years, Haataja lived alone in an apartment about 10 blocks away from Chadron State College. He began teaching in the fall almost immediately after getting a doctorate in math from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
It took him more than a decade to get the degree and periodically caused excruciating stress that Sorenson said led to "momentary" depression. He was hospitalized while in the final leg of his doctoral work.
The circuitous route Haataja took to earn the degree he coveted, however, wasn't for a lack of talent or work ethic.
A longtime UNL math professor who was Haataja's adviser during his last, and successful attempt at a doctorate, said Haataja stood out. "He was quite outstanding as a ... student," said professor John Meakin, who described Haataja as extremely happy to get the degree and job at Chadron State.
"He had a lot of talent, but also worked very hard," he said. "He was one of the better students I've had."
Chadron State math professor Rob Stack recalled Haataja walking into his office one day, as he occasionally did to seek advice on teaching, and looking at Stack's bookshelf.
"He looked at the books and said, 'Oh, that's great book,' or 'I remember reading that,' and then he started rattling off theorems," Stack said. "I'm going 'wow' -- he's got a wealth of knowledge that almost goes beyond comprehension."
While a teenager in South Dakota, Haataja won state chess championships and as an adult devoured books that he bought during regular trips to bookstores where it was common for him to spend $100 at a time, Sorenson said.
His intelligence was apparent while he taught at Augustana, as was the fear of failure Sorenson said is common among introverted math wizards like Haataja who live in a realm consumed by proofs and the nightmare that just one small hole in mathematical logic can cause their doctoral arguments to crumble. Haataja completed all the work necessary to get his degree -- except writing his thesis.
The clock ran out on the time he had to complete it, so he went to work for Gateway Computers for several years before deciding to return to UNL, where he received his master's degree in 1987, and pursue his doctorate again in 2001. The thesis paper Haataja initially failed to write went on to be published later.
Meakin described the paper as influential.
Shortly before receiving his doctorate, Haataja wrote on his personal Web page: "So next week I officially become Dr. Steve. Woo-hoo!"
Things were also looking up for Haataja after suffering through a serious injury while at UNL. He broke his hip in an ice skating accident in March 2005 and had to use a wheelchair for two months while recovering. Sorenson believes that injury added to the depression Haataja suffered.
The accident made the already cautious Haataja even more cautious, according to Sorenson. He would avoid walking on overly bumpy sidewalks and stepping over objects more than a couple feet high, and was not a hiker who walked for the sake of walking.
The area where Haataja was reportedly found cannot be accessed by clearly marked hiking trails.
"If there wasn't a clear trail to walk on, I can guarantee he wouldn't go," Sorenson said.
But professor Steve Haataja's best friend is among those who strongly doubt a depressed mental state is to blame. Haataja's friend of about 15 years, Tim Sorenson, said one thing was clear based on recent correspondence: Haataja was happier than he'd been in years.
"When he went out to Chadron, it was an extremely exciting time for him," said Sorenson, who got to know Haataja when the two taught math at Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Augustana College in the early 1990's, where Sorenson still teaches. During times Haataja was depressed, he would talk to Sorenson and his wife, and he reached out after moving to Chadron in August.
But it wasn't for emotional or mental counsel.
"All his e-mails were upbeat," Sorenson said. "His e-mails were more upbeat as time went on."
After being missing for more than three months, Haataja's body was found March 9, reportedly in a ravine in rugged terrain just outside this town of about 5,600 people.
Authorities aren't talking, but Dawes County Attorney Vance Haug has described the circumstances surrounding his death as "unusual" and the condition of Haataja's body one reason a homicide investigation was being launched. Asked Friday about the condition of the body, a ranch hand who said he stumbled upon it while searching for a runaway steer would only say that he was convinced foul play may have been involved.
Rumors are circulating that Haataja had been bound and burned.
Divorced for more than 10 years, Haataja lived alone in an apartment about 10 blocks away from Chadron State College. He began teaching in the fall almost immediately after getting a doctorate in math from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
It took him more than a decade to get the degree and periodically caused excruciating stress that Sorenson said led to "momentary" depression. He was hospitalized while in the final leg of his doctoral work.
The circuitous route Haataja took to earn the degree he coveted, however, wasn't for a lack of talent or work ethic.
A longtime UNL math professor who was Haataja's adviser during his last, and successful attempt at a doctorate, said Haataja stood out. "He was quite outstanding as a ... student," said professor John Meakin, who described Haataja as extremely happy to get the degree and job at Chadron State.
"He had a lot of talent, but also worked very hard," he said. "He was one of the better students I've had."
Chadron State math professor Rob Stack recalled Haataja walking into his office one day, as he occasionally did to seek advice on teaching, and looking at Stack's bookshelf.
"He looked at the books and said, 'Oh, that's great book,' or 'I remember reading that,' and then he started rattling off theorems," Stack said. "I'm going 'wow' -- he's got a wealth of knowledge that almost goes beyond comprehension."
While a teenager in South Dakota, Haataja won state chess championships and as an adult devoured books that he bought during regular trips to bookstores where it was common for him to spend $100 at a time, Sorenson said.
His intelligence was apparent while he taught at Augustana, as was the fear of failure Sorenson said is common among introverted math wizards like Haataja who live in a realm consumed by proofs and the nightmare that just one small hole in mathematical logic can cause their doctoral arguments to crumble. Haataja completed all the work necessary to get his degree -- except writing his thesis.
The clock ran out on the time he had to complete it, so he went to work for Gateway Computers for several years before deciding to return to UNL, where he received his master's degree in 1987, and pursue his doctorate again in 2001. The thesis paper Haataja initially failed to write went on to be published later.
Meakin described the paper as influential.
Shortly before receiving his doctorate, Haataja wrote on his personal Web page: "So next week I officially become Dr. Steve. Woo-hoo!"
Things were also looking up for Haataja after suffering through a serious injury while at UNL. He broke his hip in an ice skating accident in March 2005 and had to use a wheelchair for two months while recovering. Sorenson believes that injury added to the depression Haataja suffered.
The accident made the already cautious Haataja even more cautious, according to Sorenson. He would avoid walking on overly bumpy sidewalks and stepping over objects more than a couple feet high, and was not a hiker who walked for the sake of walking.
The area where Haataja was reportedly found cannot be accessed by clearly marked hiking trails.
"If there wasn't a clear trail to walk on, I can guarantee he wouldn't go," Sorenson said.
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