Celebrating the life of Dr. Tracie Moniece Gibson (1967-2019)
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As director of the CNS Office of Student Success and Diversity, Tracie brought her warm and welcoming spirit to everything she approached. She was instrumental in establishing now-flourishing programs to support success for our students, and her mission was to ensure that every student felt that they belonged and could realize their dreams at the university. Her passion for empowering new scientists was matched only by her natural energy and inclusive spirit. Tracie never accepted “no” for an answer when advocating for our students; she simply found another way to raise us all up.
Trained as a biologist, Tracie began her educational career at the University of Michigan, going on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Cornell College and Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in cell biology from Purdue University. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin and the Salk Institute before joining the faculty at the University of Texas - Permian Basin and later at the University of Missouri - Columbia. Tracie won multiple awards and honors for outstanding teaching, mentoring, and classroom innovation. She was a member of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) and served on the ASCB Minority Affairs and Education Committees. Tracie valued the power of mentorship in guiding her own career success and was dedicated to creating similar opportunities to help students as they built their own careers.
Tracie died in October 2019. Her passion, commitment, creativity, genial presence and leadership are deeply missed by those with the good fortune to have known her. Tracie’s spirit will live on in the work she began at CNS, which we continue, inspired by her example and in dedication to her memory.
The Legacy of Dr. Tracie Moniece Gibson
Tracie was honored at a celebration on the UMass campus November 20, 2019 including this slideshow tribute.
Memories
Tracie was one of the most inspirational, hard working, and creative colleague I have worked with. She was truly passionate about helping others and made a positive impact on the UMass community. I am saddened by the loss of such a wonderful light and extend my sincere condolences to her family and friends.
—Jenn Cooper, senior director of development, College of Natural Sciences at UMass Amherst
Tracie embodied the type of scientist I want to become. She was patient with students, committed to their success and she used her story and experiences to inspire and keep us all going. I'm going to miss having such a great role model on campus.
—Raquel Bryant
I asked Tracie to give a Welcome to the students who came to the DELL Diversity Recruiting Event, "Changing the Face of Tech". In her talk, she was encouraging our students to dream big and always have big ideas. She really fired them up. Tracie, you will be missed.
—Janet Bordwin, CNS Career Center Director
At the start of the Lee-SIP program, Tracie had an information day where she told us all what Lee-SIP was all about and her expectations. I think we were all confused as to what a Science Slam was and what we were going to be doing. So when it came to that slide, Tracie stopped and asked us "Who's competitive? If you are, stand up for me." So I and a few others stood up. Then she said, "Ok. Now who's hungry? Who's hungry for that win!?" A few people sat down, but me and a few others stayed standing. She took a picture of all of us to make sure that she remembered us and that we stuck to our word that we were hungry for the win. Once she took the picture, she then told us that we were going to compete against MIT in a pitch competition. Now, I'm going to be honest, I was terrified. But Tracie made it clear that she wanted to win and that she was going to pay special attention to those who were "hungry." So, I told Tracie that I wasn't just hungry, I was starving. And she went "Ok, I'm counting on you then."
As the summer progressed and it got closer to the Science Slam I got more and more nervous, but the words "who's hungry" kept playing in my head. Tracie motivated me in a way that I never thought possible. I never felt pressure to win, I never felt like I would disappoint her. The confidence that she had for all of us resonated with me. I wanted to make her proud.
When we went to MIT, I think we all felt a little nervous because it was MIT! I know that I was overestimating our competition, I thought that they were going to be so much better, but Tracie, with her confidence, reassured us that they were no different and that we had just as much chance to place as they did. She was absolutely right because we swept MIT and took first, second, and tied for third. When they called my name as the first place winner the first person I looked at was Tracie. I could see the pride her eyes as I took the trophy and as we all posed for the winners picture. I did something that day that I didn't know I was capable of. I had a lot of doubts about winning but I don't think Tracie doubted one bit.
Even though Tracie has passed, her words and confidence will still be with me. When ever I feel doubt I just remember her asking "who's hungry?" and I'll remember that I'm starving.
—Dimee Livingston-Padilla
I was in the 2nd year of Lee-SIP, the 2nd cohort of students. That summer Tracie had organized a Science Slam with the MIT program. I was already excited about a Science Slam as I've never done one but Tracie hyped it up so much. She was very adamant about beating MIT and honestly without that competitiveness I might not have tried as hard. I got to be a finalist from our program to go up against MIT. While I didn't win... WE SWEPT MIT! Lee-SIP students took 1st, 2nd, AND 3rd place! She was so proud of us and was telling us the next day not only how proud she was but how amazed people from MIT, the judges, and other visitors were of us. We had done it. WE had beat MIT, a big-named STEM college.
I credit our victory to Tracie. She practiced with us and gave us so much helpful feedback, not just to prepare us for MIT, but to also make us better scientists. The Science Slam was really just a competition of who could better communicate our science. After all, what's the point of science if no one knows about it? This is a sentiment I continue to carry. As someone who started to become unsure about my future career in science, Tracie helped me find my curiosity and gain a newfound love for science. Through her energy and passion for us as students of underrepresented groups and minorities, I feel empowered, now more than ever, to continue my work in science, whatever that may be.
—Waverly Lau, Lee SIP student
I had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Gibson not only as my professor, but my mentor and friend. I met her during my undergraduate studies at the University of Texas Permian Basin in an introductory class to the university. I remember thinking how fun and dynamic of a person she was and she encouraged me to be part of her research team! Taking that opportunity was one of the best decisions I ever made, as she was the first person to put a pipettor in my hand! She had mentioned that the reason she chose to go into Academia over Industry is that she wanted to help promote a difference into lives of future scientists! And boy, if you know Tracie that’s all she ever did!
She was always true to her Detroit roots and always supported her lions when it came down to football season. In class, she always made it a point to try and learn everyone’s name so that when guys would rep their sports team, she never hesitated to call them out for it. Tracie always had a point of making learning fun with her annual biology poetry slams. She loved her Chik-Fil-A sandwiches and her fun competitive side would come out during a game of Monopoly! No one could ever forget her infamous phrases she would use from time to time which were Shucky Ducky Quack Quack, or Sugar Honey Iced Tea! As a birthday gift one year, our research team had pitched in to get her a Pink lab coat custom embroidered with her name and those sayings on each sleeve! Pink was one of her favorite colors as she loved that gift! Being part of Dr. Gibson’s research family brought others and myself closer together in pursuit of scientific careers. I will always be truly thankful to have known her and how much she has made a difference in my life, as I’m sure she has in so many others!
—Sarah Ontiveroz