Legendary Tufts history professor Gill dies at 58

Banner Staff

Gerald R. Gill, who spent more than 25 years shaping the minds of Massachusetts students as an associate professor of history at Tufts University, died suddenly as a result of arterial sclerosis at 11 p.m. last Thursday in his Cambridge apartment. He was 58.

In a July 27 letter informing the university community of Gill’s passing, Tufts administrators called him “a master teacher and a gifted scholar” whose work focused on race relations in Boston, African American opposition to the wars of the 20th century and the history of African Americans at Tufts.

A member of the Tufts faculty since 1980, Gill’s scholarship twice earned him the Massachusetts Professor of the Year award, among a host of other professional accolades. The Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Tufts Community, bestowed by the university’s Africana Center, was renamed the Gerald R. Gill Distinguished Service Award in his honor.

While the awards speak to Gill’s accomplished career, the Tufts letter said those acknowledgements only tell part of the story.

“No award can do justice to the many contributions Gerald made to Tufts. Thoughtful, soft spoken, and incredibly generous with his time, Gerald was a wonderful friend and colleague,” the administrators wrote. “He always pushed Tufts to be a better place, a more inclusive place, one that is welcoming to all.”

Born Nov. 18, 1948 in New Rochelle, N.Y., Gill held a bachelor’s degree in history from Lafayette University and both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in history from Howard University.

He leaves behind a daughter, Ayana McGee Gill, her husband Reginal McGee and a grandson, Coti McGee, all of Jackson, Miss., as well as two sisters, Willie Butler and Mary Smith of Germantown, Md., and a host of nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial service at the Goddard Chapel at Tufts University in Medford today at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gill’s memory c/o Tufts University Africana Center, 8 Professors Row, Medford, MA 02155.