History Professor Jack Reece dies at 56

History Professor Jack Reece died of a heart attack August 30 after serving the University community for nearly three decades. He was 56. His unexpected death -- from heart trouble caused by a pneumonia he contracted while battling AIDS -- left a "wide gap in the department," History Professor Robert Engs said. Reece specialized in modern European history at the undergraduate and graduate levels in both the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies until AIDS forced him to take medical leave in 1994. His expertise in Mediterranean Europe, Italy, France, fascism and modern Europe, will make him difficult to replace, History Professor Walter McDougall said. But more importantly, many of Reece's colleagues said they will miss his good humor, reliability and common sense. Reece joined Penn as a professor in 1971 after receiving his doctorate in modern European history from Stanford University. He arrived armed with an array of honors, including a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, a Ford Foundation Fellowship and a Phi Beta Kappa Key from his alma mater, the University of Michigan. Reece rose through the ranks of the History Department, eventually serving as chairperson of both the undergraduate and graduate departmental programs. He published a book in 1977 dealing with minority nationalism in Brittany. And at the time of his death, Reece was working on another book about the Sicilian Mafia. Additionally, he contributed to numerous history journals and lectured to political leaders and scholars at international conventions. Reece's lectures were also well-attended in his home court, where his popularity as a professor stemmed from a passionate teaching style that always encouraged camaraderie and "energetic student participation," according to McDougall. And History Department Chairperson Lynn Lees added that Reece "took a personal interest in all of his students." Reece received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching in 1973 and CGS named him its "Teacher of the Year" in 1989. But Reece's commitment to his students and colleagues extended far beyond the doors of 3401 Walnut Street. He became actively involved in approximately 25 committees, ranging from the University Task Force on HIV/AIDS to the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Racial and Sexual Harassment. He sought increased communication between faculty and the administration and mocked the pretensions of academic life. "Reece believed that Penn took itself too seriously," Engs said. "He wanted us to stop trying to pretend that we were Princeton and take pride in practical things." And former student Barry Bergen, who received his doctorate in history from Penn in 1987, remembered his mentor's dislike for politicians whose behavior didn't measure up to his standards. While Reece ignored pretentious academics, he embraced pragmatic scholars. His colleagues repeatedly described him as "kind-hearted, courageous and dignified." Former student Steven Zdatny -- who received his doctorate in history in 1982 -- said Reece possessed "a slightly distant and ironic approach to the world, combined with a fierce commitment to doing what was right and an unshakable personal honesty." "His understanding of the world and people went far beyond the ivy-covered walls of the academy," Bergen added. He epitomized the "model of a scholar, a teacher and a human being." The History Department will establish a memorial fund in Reece's honor by the end of the fall. All proceeds will benefit graduate students in history. Funeral services for Reece are scheduled for September 28 in Fulton, Mich.