Baird Professor of History Mark A. Kishlansky praised Gienapp’s dedication to undergraduate teaching and the courses he created.
“He was a great teacher who cared about undergrads,” Kishlansky said. “He built an absolutely terrific core course on the Civil War.”
David G. Blackbourn, Coolidge professor of history and the director of the Center for European Studies, said that, above all, Gienapp was a devoted teacher.
“He went out of his way, beyond the normal call of duty. His energies went into teaching. He was absolutely devoted to it,” he said.
Kishlansky said that he has fond memories of attending Red Sox games with Gienapp, who taught the popular history class, History 1653, “Baseball and American Society, 1840-Present.”
“He had the terrible misfortune of being a Red Sox fan,” he said. “I tried to help him through it.”
Gienapp is survived by his wife, Erica, two sons, William Gienapp ’01 and Jonathan E. Gienapp ’06, his mother, Jane and two brothers.