To all the folks who callously judge him, find some better way to waste your time. This stuff is pretty terrible news for his family and friends, and he was a real guy who lost some kind of difficult battle inside or whatever, it's a damn shame. If the kids, by some good fortune grow up healthy and happy, let's pray, I just hope they have nothing but love for the parent they lost.

c'mon people! the answers to life are not in your textbook!

He wanted to see NYU through the eyes of its students.

I have a different theory...he had seen the American Apparel "velvet" ad one too many times, realized he wasn't going to be getting any of that kind of strange anytime soon and decided to jump.

That's funny. I was thinking that the Velvet girl might have changed his mind.

"Attention PhD holders, there's a job opening at Springfield University (NYU)"

Bart Simpson playing jokes at Barnes and Noble employees

Why doesn't NYU put up barricades or plexiglass on the balconies. In Baruch's Newman Library is court-yard style as well but every floor except the first and second floor have glass barricades.

Washington Square Village is an apartment complex for NYU faculty -- not an academic building.

Coward. And an unimaginative one at that. What is it with NYU & jumping to death?

There's bound to be more to this story than meets the eye.

Like other commenters, I've often viewed suicide as an intensely selfish act, as it almost always leaves behind victims who were dependent upon the suicide victim: friends, family, students.

The example of David Foster Wallace comes to mind: a wife, students and graduate students, hundreds of friends and fans.

Yet, when I share this viewpoint with people who have had family members attempt or complete suicide, they passionately disagree. Most express the belief that suicide is an act of desperation: the victim has often sought help, felt a sense of hopelessness and made prior gestures. Spalding Gray was one such victim: he had been treated for depression for most of his adult life, made several attempts and, ultimately, succeeded.

If we are to believe this story, the professor, during the heat of an argument, made an impulsive decision to jump from an 18th floor balcony. Happy, happy man? I doubt it. We're likely to find out that he had been treated for depression (or bipolar illness) and had made prior attempts.

I looked at his on-line bio and there was a bit of an edge to it: he really discouraged students from emailing him and was pessimistic about the chance of all but a select few to study with him. A bit off-putting, if he were my faculty advisor.

Really feel for his wife...

Suicide is like a tattoo, except more permanent.

There must be some thing in NY that causes neurological side effects because somebody associated with the school is always jumping.

Wait until next week when the truth comes out and we discover that she pushed him.

Coward.

+1. What a shitty thing to do to his wife and kids.

What a cowardly and selfish thing to do to his family.

Indeed. As a new mom, caring for one kid is pretty darn hard even with a husband's help. Leaving a wife and two preemies? What a selfish jerk.

Extremely selfish and thoughtless. Someone did this to me and it took decades and lots of therapy to deal with their committing suicide.

"did this to me"

really? you're referring to a human being who felt driven to kill him/herself for some reason or other, and this is how you choose to frame it? good job.