In Memoriam: Patricia Crosson

Patricia Crosson, former interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at UMass Amherst, died peacefully at home on Martha's Vineyard on Jan. 9, at age 76, after a long illness.

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Crosson lived in Massachusetts communities around the University of Massachusetts Amherst for over 40 years and on Martha's Vineyard for the last 12 years. She earned her master's and doctoral degrees from the UMass Amherst School of Education, now known as the College of Education. She began working at UMass in 1985 in the School of Education, eventually earning her rank as a full, tenured professor. From 1989 to 1991 she served as deputy provost and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and from 1994 to 1997, she serves as interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Crosson went on to become the director at the Center for Educational Policy in the School of Education, before retiring and being named professor emeritus in 2001.  

In addition to UMass Amherst, she taught at the University of Maryland and Pittsburgh University. Pat was an extremely hard worker but she is remembered more for her "tell it like it is" candor, her boundless energy, intense sense of fair play and great sense of humor.

In addition to her academic career, Pat and her husband, Charles Adams, also a longtime faculty member at UMass Amherst, led an exciting life full of travel and adventure. Avid sailors with little open-ocean experience, they decided to sail their beautiful 40-foot Concordia yawl across the Atlantic from Maine to Portugal. For years, they spent winters teaching and summers sailing up and down the Western European coast. On one stop in County Donegal in Northwest Ireland, they spied a small croft perched all alone on steep terrain high above the Atlantic Ocean. They spent years converting the place to a comfortable cottage, always mindful of original plans and materials. When Adams died in 2008, Crosson continued her annual visits to Donegal, taking long daily hikes with many new friends. The house on the hill will always be known as “Pat's Cottage.”

Crosson is survived by her sister, Peggy Siegel, and brother, Bill Harrison, nephew Ted Green and niece Wendy Green and their children, Anna and Dylan Green and Kari, Nora and Lars Green-Orset. A "celebration of life" will be held in late May at Crosson's house on Martha's Vineyard. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her name could be sent to the Greenfield Community College Foundation, One College Drive, Greenfield, MA, 01301. Crosson served for many years on its Board of Directors.