Prof. Gill: A Gentleman and a Scholar

September 14, 2007

by Michael Skocay

In the many remembrances of Prof. Gerald R. Gill following his sudden death on July 26 at the age of 58, one of the most common reflections is that of the history professor’s ability to remember the names of each of his students. At the public memorial service for Prof. Gill, History department chair Virginia Drachman reminisced about her longtime friend and colleague’s knack for recollection.

“There was nothing more remarkable than a walk across campus with Gerry. Students would pass by with, ‘Hello Prof. Gill,’ ‘How are you Prof. Gill,’ and every time, Gerry would answer them, not only by name but with something personal besides,” she said. “Meanwhile, I was lucky if one or two students would say hello, and then, in a panic, I would struggle to get my brain to remember their names, on the spot.” She remembered that Prof. Gill would often provide her with the name she was looking for.

It is that simple talent, however, that many recall a sign of a greater kindness of spirit.

Prof. Gill was born in 1948 and raised in New Rochelle, New York. In 1970 he completed a bachelor’s degree in history at Lafayette College and, for two years, taught history in a high school in New Rochelle. Prof. Gill went on to earn a master’s degree in history at Howard University, where he also pursued a doctorate while working as a research fellow at the college in Washington, D.C.

In 1980, Prof. Gill began as an assistant professor at Tufts. In Boston he encountered a city struggling to overcome racial strife, highlighted by school desegregation campaigns that divided residents.

“Boston doesn’t have the best reputation in terms of being a city that’s hospitable towards African-Americans,” Prof. Gill said in a 2005 interview from the Tufts Journal. “There are people who would argue that Boston is the most racist city in the United States.”

It was this racial disquietude that gave Prof. Gill, a teacher with a passion for African-American history and an author of several works on the subject, a direction for his work. “I became interested in looking at race relations and African-American protests in Boston largely because many of my friends from graduate school asked me questions about why I was staying in Boston,” he explained in 2005.

Prof. Gill often bridged the line between academic history and cultural activism, and he is remembered by students and faculty for his involvement in local African-American communities in Boston and with students on the Tufts campus.

Prof. Gill realized that uncovering the relatively unexcavated history of race in New England and at the university was in and of itself an avenue for a new cultural understanding—one that included names and faces often forgotten in the traditional historical narrative.

In a 2002 Tufts Magazine article, “Another Light on the Hill: Black Undergraduates and Tufts,” Prof. Gill illuminated his philosophy. “Individually as well as collectively, black students have contributed greatly to the ambience of the ‘Tufts experience.’ Their accomplishments, past and present, need to be acknowledged and made more a part of the history and lore of Tufts University,” he said. “May the presentation of the history of African-American, Caribbean-American and Continental African students spur further research on the historical experiences of students from other racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Then, the history of Tufts will more fully encompass the experiences of all its students.”

Prof. Gill was equally versed in the history of baseball as he was in American race relations. He was fond of mingling the two subjects in lecture or during a long conversation in his cluttered East Hall office. He was an expert, particularly, on the Negro Leagues, the professional baseball leagues of mainly African American players that existed from the 1860s to 1948. He collected memorabilia from Negro teams and often found a way to proudly share a rare artifact from his collection in his classes.

His zeal of sport filled seats in his classes on the subject, and his continued loyalty to the New York Yankees — a team he continued to support even after almost three decades of living in Cambridge — stirred friendly debate with his students and coworkers.

Prof. Gill was the recipient of numerous awards for his academic and personal work. Twice named the Massachusetts Professor of the Year, Prof. Gill also received the Lerman-Neubauer Prize for Outstanding Teaching and Advising and was honored by the Carnegie Foundation. On campus, his work was recognized by African-American students with a Distinguished Service Award, since renamed in his honor. He also received the first Professor of the Year from the student Senate.

More than the countless achievements, however, Prof. Gill is remembered as an ebullient personality whose charisma and charm, intellect and generosity filled his classrooms and defined his personality. In the words of Prof. Drachman, “Gerry was a gentleman and a gentle man. He did not just contribute to Tufts; he defined Tufts.”

“His was a constant and a deeply felt presence and his warmth and generosity were unbounded,” wrote English department chair Lee Edelman on a webpage created for the Tufts community to remember Prof. Gill. “Like his office, which overflowed with the countless treasures and papers he preserved, so Gerald overflowed too: with patience and concern for others; with dedication to his students and his colleagues; with a goodness and a radiant humanity that touched everyone he met.”

From the dozens of current and former students and faculty who have posted their heartfelt memories it is evident that Prof. Gill imparted lasting academic and personal lessons to those who knew him. Still, for those who remember the familiar sight of Prof. Gill making his way across campus with stack of papers in hand or his open office door in East Hall, the loss is tremendous.

At the memorial service for Prof. Gill, Prof. Jeanne Marie Penvenne, a colleague in the History department, said this of her friend: “He gave and he gave to all of you and to me, and to our friends and to our children. He taught us and loved us and he lived with us — always a gentleman, always gentle.”

A University memorial service in remembrance of Prof. Gerald Gill will be held on Monday, September 24, 2007 at 12:15 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium. The University established a scholarship, the Gerald R. Gill Fund, in his honor. Donations may be sent payable to Trustees of Tufts College to Brigette Bryant; Tufts University, School of Arts & Sciences; 80 George Street — Room 320; Medford, MA 02155.