Tennessee Professor Dead After Being Swept Away by Wave in Brazil: 'Tragic Accident'

Tennessee's Columbia State Community College said they received confirmation on May 20 that Clifford Gordon's body had been located

The body of a Tennessee community college professor has been found after he was swept away by an wave in Brazil, his university said.

Clifford Gordon, an associate professor of art who was part of a study abroad program in Brazil, was "walking along an oceanside road and stopped to take their photographs along either boulders or a wall when a wave hit" him and three students, Columbia State Community College said in a news release on Monday, May 20.

"The three students are safe and were not seriously injured when the wave struck," the university added.

After being swept away, "rescue operations were launched immediately by Brazilian authorities," the school shared. The university said they received confirmation on Monday that his body was located and was "positively identified."

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The university said the three victims were among a group of 12 Tennessee community college students all taking part in the program.

"Two of the three students are from Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville and the third is from Walters State Community College in Morristown, TN," according to CSCC.

Currently, the school said the students "are being provided counseling, and early transportation home has been arranged." They are scheduled to be back in Tennessee on Tuesday, The Tennessean reported.

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“We were heartbroken to hear of this tragic accident,” said Dr. Janet F. Smith, Columbia State Community College president. “We are thankful that no students were seriously injured. Our college family mourns the loss of Clifford, who was a talented artist and greatly loved by his students. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and students.”

Clifford began working for Columbia State in 2008 as an adjunct professor and then started working full-time in 2013, according to the college.

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Along with an Associate's Degree in art from Chattanooga State Community College, Clifford had a Bachelor of Science Degree in art from Tennessee State University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in studio art from the Memphis College of Art.

"He was also a talented artist and had numerous exhibitions throughout the state," read a statement from the college. "Clifford was known for producing amazing works of collage and painting to draw the viewer into a world informed by various ideas, traditions and modern discourses. In addition, Clifford traveled to Brazil many summers and taught himself how to speak Portuguese."

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