Dr. Gilbert Kushner

KUSHNER, Dr. Gilbert, 76, died, May 30, 2010, in Tampa, Florida. Gil was born in Bronx, NY, to Abraham and Sarah Kushner. He spent his early childhood in Israel, then returned to New York where he grew up. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1950, and obtained his Bachelor of Arts from City College of New York in 1954. After serving in the U.S. Army, he obtained his Master of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1958. Following doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina, he received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1968. Gil began his passionate and illustrious career in anthropology as an Instructor at the University of Houston in 1962, and then Associate Professor at the State University of New York College at Brockport in 1968. He came to Tampa in 1970 to join the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida, where he served as Chairperson from 1971 to 1985, and Associate Dean in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences from 1971 to 1978. He retired and was named Professor Emeritus in 1999. Upon receiving the Sol Tax Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Applied Anthropology in 2005, Professor Kushner was called "one of a very small number of anthropologists who have been instrumental in providing for the institutionalization of applied anthropology... a major player in the rapid expansion of applied anthropology in our time, and a key contributor to building the structures that ensure its continued prominence within the discipline... Of Professor Kushner's several contributions to the profession, none stands out so clearly or incontrovertibly as does his career long dedication to the training and education of applied and practicing anthropologists." As a result of his leadership at USF, Gil created and implemented the field's first Master's in Applied Anthropology in 1974, as well as the first PhD in Applied Anthropology in 1984. These programs provided the template for the great variety of applied training programs that exist today. Gil represented applied anthropology in numerous professional associations, and was active in various community service organizations throughout Tampa.

Throughout his career, Professor Kushner contributed to the knowledge of the anthropological discipline through his research and publications. His work consistently showed the blending of a sense of humanity to the rigors of anthropological endeavor. A quality of intellectual resourcefulness and sincere good will shows through clearly in one of his earliest contributions, a critical analysis of the "administered community" in Israel (Planned Change in an Administered Community: Immigrants from India in Israel, 1973) as it does in later contributions to the understanding of cultural persistence (Persistent Peoples: Cultural Enclaves in Perspective, 1981) and to human rights issues (Human Rights and Anthropology, 1988). Professor Kushner wrote extensively on the institutionalization of applied anthropology, and the development of applied training programs. His insights on these matters remain among the most often cited in the available literature.

Gil's passion for life extended far beyond his career. He loved to cook, enjoy good food, laugh, read, write, watch the Bucs and the Rays, listen to music, play folk songs, and visit with his beloved family, friends, students, and colleagues. He was preceded in death by his parents, Sarah and Abraham Kushner, and his son, Jonathan Mark. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Lorraine Kushner; sister, Esther; sons, Andrew and David; daughters-in-law, Shelley and Sue; and granddaughters, Alyssa, Samantha, and Mia. A funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 2713 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33629. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Gil's memory to LifePath Hospice, Development Department, 12973 N. Telecom Parkway, Suite 100, Temple Terrace, FL 33637, or the Tzedakah Fund in care of Congregation Rodeph Sholom.