Campus News

Millicent Lenz Gilson Mourned

(September 10, 2004)

UAlbany Professor Emerita of children�s literature Millicent Lenz Gilson, 68, of Menands, N.Y., died June 10 at Albany Memorial Hospice. She was a professor in the School of Information Science and Policy from 1984 to 2003. In 1982, she married Robert Gilson.

During her professorship at UAlbany, she wrote the highly regarded Nuclear Age Literature for Youth: The Quest for a Life Affirming Ethic, as well as many professional journal articles. More recently, she was the author of the anthology His Dark Materials Illuminated: Critical Essays on Philip Pullman�s Trilogy, (Wayne State University Press), to be released in summer 2005.

Born in Webster City, Iowa, Lenz was the daughter of the late Carl P. and Edith Hanawalt Lenz. She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor�s degree from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and earned a master�s degree in English from the University of Kansas. She received a master�s degree in library science from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. from Northern Illinois University. Lenz was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and was listed in Out-standing Women of America, Who�s Who of American Women, and Mensa.

Throughout her life, Lenz was a supporter of causes for the mentally and developmentally disabled. Well respected and devoted to her profession, she was on the board and an active member of the National Children�s Literature Association, and was a longtime member of the Modern Language Association. She is survived by her husband, Robert Gilson, two sisters, and a brother. Donations may be made to Albany ARC, 334 Krumkill Road, Slingerlands, N.Y., 12159, or Disabled American Veterans, National Service Foundation, 3725 Alexandria Pike, Cold Spring, Ky., 40176.