Remembering Art Gilbert

We are saddened to learn of the passing former Korbel School Professor Arthur “Art” Gilbert, who passed away on September 13, 2021.

Art joined the faculty in the early 1960s before even the creation of the Graduate School of International Studies. Over nearly six decades he taught more than a thousand Korbel students. By all accounts, Art lived for his classes and his students, and shared food, humor, and thousands of hours of his time beyond the classroom with them.   

 Joe Szyliowicz, one of Art's colleagues of more than 50 years, recalls that “Art was a committed teacher who cared deeply about his students and the development of Korbel. He spent over fifty years helping students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and constantly challenged them to think creatively and with innovatively. He continued to do so even after retiring, working with graduate students to prepare papers for conferences and publication.”

As a historian, Art’s area of expertise was social justice and exclusion in traditionally male dominated organizations and societies. He was described to me as a historian of the forgotten, the lost to time, the overlooked, and the idiosyncratic, someone who believed strongly in shining a light in the corners and highlighting those whose impact was bigger than the credit they were given. 

Art was also a major force behind the creation of the old CyberCafe, which was the heart of communal life at the School before the construction of the new building.

 All of us at Korbel honor his long service to the School and extend our condolences to his family.