G
ary G. Land of Berrien Center,
Michigan, died on April 26 at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Mishawaka,
Indiana, after a long battle with cancer. He was 69.
Land, born Aug. 22, 1944, joined the faculty at
Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, as a teacher in the Department
of History & Political Science in 1970. He served as chair of the department for
more than two decades. He retired as emeritus professor of history.
For his undergraduate studies, Land
attended Pacific Union College, Angwin, California, and graduated in 1966 with
a Bachelor of Arts. He continued his studies at the University of California,
Santa Barbara, California, and completed a Master of Arts in 1967 and a PhD in
1973.
Throughout his service at the
university, he served as an instructor in history, assistant and associate
professor of history. He also worked in administration and served as a graduate
programs director and assistant dean to the College of Arts & Sciences. He
became chair of the Department of History & Political Science in 1988.
Service was very important to Land.
He was a member of the Berrien County Historical Association Board of Directors
and served the group since 1983. He was active in the church as a Sabbath
School teacher, leader and director, among other service activities. Land was
also a member of the organizing committee for the Ellen White Project as well
as the Spectrum editorial board.
An avid writer, Land edited several
academic/professional books and has published three of his own. His writings
appeared in many professional journals and periodicals, including the Journal
of Adventist Education, College and University Dialogue, Spectrum:
A Quarterly Journal of the Association of Adventist Forums and Adventist
Heritage, among others. He also contributed chapters to books and wrote
book reviews for academic publications. He was a co-editor of Ellen
Harmon White: American Prophet, a new biography recently released by Oxford
University Press.
A
memorial service will be held at Pioneer Memorial Church in Berrien Springs,
Michigan, on Friday, May 2, at 10 a.m.
