In Memoriam: Tracie Gibson

Tracie Gibson, director of the Office of Student Success and Diversity for the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has died.

Dr. Gibson joined the staff at the University of Massachusetts in 2017. Before coming to Amherst, Dr. Gibson served on the faculty at the University of Texas-Permian Basin and later at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Earlier, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.

Tricia Serio, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, stated that “Tracie brought her warm and welcoming spirit to everything she approached. She was instrumental in establishing now-flourishing programs to support success for our students, and her mission was to ensure that every student felt that they belonged and could realize their dreams at the university. Her passion for empowering new scientists was matched only by her natural energy and inclusive spirit. Tracie never accepted ‘no’ for an answer when advocating for our students; she simply found another way to raise us all up.”

Dr. Gibson was a graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She held a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in cell biology from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.