To be a true Spartan, one should pave the way for others while still holding strong to one’s values.
And by doing so for more than 40 years, Thomas Gunnings was a pioneer, said Terry Denbow, MSU’s former vice president for University Relations and a friend of Gunnings.
Gunnings, a former MSU professor and psychologist, died Friday. He was 75 years old. A cause of death was not immediately known.
Gunnings joined the university as an assistant professor and assistant director of the MSU Counseling Center in 1969. He was the first black faculty member to gain tenure in the College of Human Medicine.
During that time, he developed the foundation for what would later become the Multi-Ethnic Counseling Center Alliance, or MECCA, at MSU.
Denbow said there was not just one instance where Gunnings made an effort to help others who were at a crossroad in their lives — it was his life work.
“He had courage, insight (and) wisdom — this was somebody who was unrelenting in his pursuit of helping people,” Denbow said. “I’ve known him for years and that’s just the cumulative effect — he didn’t do things for praise or do things to get in the newspaper.”
From 1972-79, Gunnings served as assistant dean for health programs in the MSU College of Human Medicine. He also was a professor in urban and metropolitan studies in the MSU College of Urban Development during that period.
Additionally, Gunnings founded and served as president and director of Meridian Professional Psychological Consultants, P.C., a local mental health and substance abuse treatment facility. He also was associated with the American Psychological Association and was appointed by U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush for various health assignments.
Gunnings was designated Professor Emeritus status of the MSU Black Faculty & Administrators Association at his retirement in December 1999.
“The unexpected loss of Tom Gunnings is felt deeply in the MSU and Lansing community and far beyond,” MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said in a release on Gunnings’ death. “His positive and inspirational influence — from his involvement in civil rights to work with young people in need of a role model and mentor — has transformed lives.”
Memorial services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Friendship Baptist Church, 2912 Pleasant Grove Rd., in Lansing.
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