In Memoriam: Daniel Gerber
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Daniel Gerber, senior lecturer in community health education in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences and former associate dean of academic affairs in SPHHS, passed away on December 18, 2025, following a long illness.
Gerber devoted more than three decades of service to the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences as a mentor, advocate, and educator. A 1996 doctoral degree recipient from the College of Education’s Center for International Education, he was responsible for creating the Bachelor of Science in Public Health Sciences degree program at UMass Amherst in 2006. Under his leadership the program grew from 25 students in 2007 to become one of the largest and fastest-growing majors on campus.
Over the next decade plus Gerber continued as an instructor and administrator of the program, and in 2018 he was selected by the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) to receive the Riegelman Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Public Health Education, a national award given to one full-time, undergraduate public health faculty member at a school or program accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.
In 2020, Gerber was tapped to lead a School of Public Health and Health Sciences effort to assist the state with its COVID-19 response efforts.
“Dan cared deeply about the school, the field of public health, and providing his students with hands-on experience in real-world situations,” says Anna Maria Siega-Riz, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. “He was incredibly devoted to teaching, his students, and service at UMass as evidenced by his having received the Riegelman Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Public Health Education, among his many teaching awards. He was a rock star in the field of public health.”
“Dan absolutely loved teaching, especially his course, 'My Body, My Health,'” says Risa Silverman, director of the Office of Public Health Practice and Outreach in the SPHHS and a long-time colleague of Gerber's. “The class served as an introduction to public health for thousands of students over the many years he taught it. Dan met them where they were at – emphasizing experiential learning, guiding students to find their own meanings and connections. Occasionally, after a really good class, Dan would exclaim that he 'hit it out of the ballpark'—and if Dan said that, you knew it was true!”
In 2001, he helped launch the online MPH in Public Health Practice program at UMass Amherst, one of the nation’s first fully online, fully accredited MPH degree programs. He served as the program’s director for well over a decade, also earning the school’s outstanding online teaching award in 2018.
“If you had the privilege of taking one of Dan’s classes, you know how deeply he loved his students,” says Lori Peterson ‘11MS, a public health alumna who serves as the executive director of professional programs in the school. “He loved watching students learn and grow. He loved inspiring them to become more than they ever thought possible.”
As noted in his obituary, which can be found online via the Daily Hampshire Gazette, “More important than his awards was hearing from former students thanking him for believing in them and for making a difference in their lives both professionally and personally.”
In his honor, the Dan Gerber Public Health Experiential Scholarship Fund has been established to “support students who learn best by doing and who aspire to pursue a career in public health.” Donations to the scholarship fund can be made here.
If you would like to share your thoughts or memories of Dan Gerber, we invite you to contribute to his memorial page here. The SPHHS will collect and share these stories with his family.
A memorial service will be held in March. Contact Risa Silverman at risa [at] umass [dot] edu (risa[at]umass[dot]edu) for more information.