Dear colleagues,
I’m writing to share the sad news that Ira Dempsey Gruber, the Harris Masterson Jr. Professor Emeritus of History and a devoted Rice supporter, died peacefully in his sleep on Sept. 24. He was 91.
Ira joined the history department at Rice in 1966 and taught here for more than 40 years. Together, he and his wife, Pat, served as Hanszen College magisters from 1968 to 1973. They remained active as Hanszen associates and continued to welcome first-year students until recently, when they moved to Virginia to be closer to family.
Ira’s colleagues remember him for his exemplary scholarship, methodical research, enthusiastic mentorship, principled leadership, devotion to residential college life and generous philanthropy. I invite you to read their heartfelt reflections in Rice News.
Ira was born and raised in Pennsylvania and earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at Duke University. From 1955–57, he served as a U.S. Navy communications officer aboard the USS Wiltsie in the Pacific. He began his academic career teaching at Duke and Occidental College and served as a fellow of the Institute of Early American History and Culture. He became a leading scholar on the American Revolution, and his work reshaped understanding of military and political life in the 18th century.
Ira taught courses in the colonial and revolutionary history of the United States, as well as the history of warfare. Early in his career, in the 1960s, Ira made trips throughout Texas to recruit some of the first Black students to Rice. He guided the work of numerous undergraduate and Ph.D. candidates and received the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching in 1974 and 2003. In 2001, he won the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Rice’s highest teaching award.
Ira helped build the university into the respected institution that it is today. He assisted in drafting the university’s first faculty handbook, which established the importance of academic freedom, and advocated for policies to protect that freedom. Ira and Pat were generous benefactors of the history department and Fondren Library. They established the Ira and Patricia Gruber Research Fund, which supported dozens of undergraduates in original scholarship, and the Ira and Patricia Gruber Award for Best Honors Thesis. They also created the Friends of Fondren University Librarian’s Endowment Fund.
Ira is survived by Pat, his wife of 67 years, their children and grandchildren, and his sister.
Warm regards,
Provost Amy Dittmar