Michael Gurevitch, a distinguished journalism professor at the university for more than two decades and an internationally recognized mass-communication scholar, died of pneumonia Saturday in London. He was 77.

Joining the journalism school in 1983 after professorships in England and Israel, Gurevitch brought with him a reputation as a renowned media theorist, specializing in political communication, globalization of media and comparative communication.

Gurevitch wrote or edited nine books, including Mass Media and Society – a widely used textbook he co-edited – and The Crisis of Public Communication, a book he co-authored based on observations of the BBC newsroom’s campaign coverage. He also wrote numerous journal articles and book chapters.

“When you went to professional meetings,” journalism professor Maurine Beasley said, “people would always speak highly of his work and say, ‘Oh, you have Michael Gurevitch at the college,’ and spoke [with] admiration and awe that the college had him.”

Beasley, who worked with Gurevitch during his entire tenure at the university, also spoke of his close relationships with students.

“I’ve always found him willing to help students and to make constructive suggestions,” Beasley said. “He never wanted to be an impediment to a student finishing. Instead, he wanted to be an ally to the student.”

Born in Israel on July 14, 1930, Gurevitch taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and England’s Open University after earning a doctorate from MIT in 1961.

Journalism professor Reese Cleghorn, then dean of the college of journalism, hired Gurevitch in 1983.

“Michael was a very warm person, a nice person. He was always whimsical, always asking questions and disagreeing with what he heard,” Cleghorn said.

Like many of his colleagues across the campus, neatness wasn’t a priority.

“If you would ever go into his office, you wouldn’t have a place to sit,” Cleghorn said. “He had about seven chairs in his office and every one of them was stacked with books.”

Gurevitch became ill earlier this year and underwent a long hospitalization.

He is survived by his wife, Pat, their daughters Abigail Clancy and Ruth Gurevitch, and grandchildren Michael, William, Noa, Maya, Libby and Lila. Gurevitch is also survived by a daughter, Yael Nathanson, from a previous marriage, and her sons, Elad, Asaf and Ori.

Services will be held in Negev, Israel on April 8 at 5 p.m. at Kibbutz Hatzerim.

bpenn@umd.edu