Our dear colleague, Sam Gammons, passed away on Monday, March 26th, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.
Much of Sam’s career was spent working with students, including at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate level, in areas such as student services, advising, and study abroad. A graduate of Miss Porter’s School, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Oregon, Sam had extensive academic interests in Chinese history, language, and culture, as well as the experiences of international students studying abroad in the United States.
Sam arrived at Pardee as Graduate Student Affairs Administrator only in January 2022, but they made a deep and lasting impact. In October 2023, Sam became the inaugural Faculty Affairs Administrator within the Academic Affairs office and lent their talents to a new role and to supporting a new constituency, the school faculty. Sam will be remembered by their students and colleagues as kind and hardworking. Even on some of the toughest days of their illness, Sam was determined to go the extra mile for the Pardee School community, and especially its students. We deeply admired Sam’s dedication and good humor, as well as their bravery in confronting this unrelenting illness.
Sam made a difference in so many lives at Pardee, and they will be dearly missed. Our hearts go out to Sam’s spouse, Lena, and their family.