Washington Adventist University Mourns the Death of Psychology Professor Gladstone Gurubatham
Longest serving faculty with 50-year tenure was architect of the adult evening program
Takoma Park, MD (December 1, 2015) Washington Adventist University (WAU) is mourning the death of its longest-serving faculty member, Gladstone Gurubatham, PhD. He was a professor of psychology in the university’s School of Arts and Sciences for more than 50 years, and was honored at the Washington Adventist University Visionaries Gala in 2014 with an award for his “Excellence in Teaching Psychology and Social Sciences, and Excellence in Educational Leadership.”
Gurubatham served the university in a number of additional capacities over the years, including as a professor of sociology and history, and even as Chairman of the library science program.
More than 30 years ago, when Washington Adventist University was known as Columbia Union College, Gurubatham proposed that empty classrooms in the evenings could be used to provide educational opportunities to working adults in an effort to improve the school’s financial situation. He was architect of one of the first evening degree programs of its kind in the nation and he persevered to help expand it to become the current School of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS), which now offers nine graduate and nine undergraduate programs in an accelerated format that enables busy, working adults to earn a degree in as little as 18 months.
“Gladstone Gurubatham was an energetic and inspirational professor who always gave his best,” said WAU President Weymouth Spence, EdD, RT. “He truly was a visionary, and an outstanding individual who made significant contributions to this university for half a century. He will be profoundly missed on this campus and beyond.”
“He was a compassionate professor who cared about everyone, and passionate about WAU and helping to guide students to graduate,” said Grant Leitma, PhD, who is chair of the university’s Psychology Department. “He was an immensely versatile and extremely knowledgeable professor who has contributed so much to the educational and spiritual welfare of WAU. I will personally miss working with him on a daily basis for a long time to come. He was a source of continual encouragement to me. We conversed often about students and how we can do things better. The burden he carried continually was how to make WAU a better place for students to come and complete their dreams of a college education. The SGPS program, Elderhostel program, Director of External Degree, Chairman of the library science program (long time ago), teaching sociology, geography, history, anthropology, psychology, and counseling courses are examples of his commitment to WAU. He will be difficult to replace.”
Plans are in the works for a memorial service. The Office of Alumni Relations will be collecting student and community memories in preparation for the memorial service. You can submit your favorite memories or stories to alumni@wau.edu. Please include your name, your graduation year or connection to WAU, and limit your submission to no more than 200 words.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to Washington Adventist University for the creation of a memorial scholarship fund. Go to
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=XXEZP36MXNRNJdXh3R83iUekbOsUw3phw88nzb_pDdjRe_OT1U1su3l-zta&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d64ad11bbf4d2a5a1a0d303a50933f9b2
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Washington Adventist University is Montgomery County’s only four-year private college. Part of the Seventh-day Adventist system of higher education, Washington Adventist University has been educating college students since 1904 on a 19-acre campus in suburban Takoma Park, close to the nation’s capital. Approximately 1,100 students of all faiths participate in the university’s nine graduate and 31 undergraduate programs. The 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington Adventist University among the best regional colleges in the north.
Media Contacts:
Angie Crews, 301-891-4134, acrews@wau.edu
Donna Bigler, 240-286-1169, dbigler@wau.edu