Dr. William "Bill" G. Rothstein, of Baltimore, MD, passed away on Saturday, December 5th, 2020 at the age of 83. He is survived by his dear sister, Barbara (Robert) Levine; niece and nephews, Joshua (Elissa) Levine, Rachel Rosenberg, and Mike (April) Levine; and great-nieces and -nephews, Talia, Sasha, Jake, Todd, Jessica, Lindsey, and Brooke. He was predeceased by his cherished parents, Bertha and Meyer Rothstein. He is also survived by many loving friends and colleagues.
Bill was Emeritus Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health at UMBC. He was born to Meyer and Bertha Ann Rothstein in 1937. Bill earned his Bachelor of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1959, his Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1961, and his PhD from Cornell University in 1965. Dr. Rothstein then joined the UMBC faculty in 1966, the year when classes first began, making him one of the genuine founders of the university. He was promoted to associate professor in 1969 and to full professor in 1988. Prior to joining UMBC, he conducted research in the corporate sector.
During his time as the Director of the Master’s in Applied Sociology at UMBC, Bill touched the lives of innumerable students on their academic and professional journeys. He would meet individually with applicants, and provide one-on-one mentorship to students throughout their time in the program as they chose courses, developed their own research interests, and planned their next career steps. His support and encouragement of these students made him a beloved part of their UMBC experience. His important role in the lives of his students, however, did not end after graduation. His bustling social life in retirement was filled with continued friendship with former students and colleagues in the form of dinners, lunches, trips to the symphony, emails, and phone calls. Many of those students became wonderful friends and remained an important part of Bill’s life including during his final days.
Bill was passionate about his intellectual curiosity, as evidenced by his well-known and highly respected body of research on the history of medicine from a sociological perspective. Across the four books he published from 1972 to 2003, his research traced the history of American medicine from the beginning of the 19th century to the present, including disease rates in the United States and cross-nationally, causes and consequences of medical policy, and contemporary topics in public health. His work was read and appreciated by sociologists, physicians, epidemiologists, and others. He was also incredibly generous with his intellectual pursuits and published seven journal articles with his master’s students. He also contributed to the Baltimore Sun and other media outlets to raise awareness about public health topics. For Bill, his research was more than a profession--it was his life’s passion. At his retirement party from UMBC in 2013, Bill remarked that he was excited to have more time to continue his research. And, continue he did--with a new book published in 2018 of his research and commentary on the coronary heart disease pandemic of the 20th century. Up until the summer of 2020, Bill was still passionately researching and developing commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Service to his department and to UMBC was also central to Dr. Rothstein’s career at UMBC. He served on virtually every standing committee in the department, was acting chair, and served multiple terms with distinction as Director of the MA Program in Applied Sociology. Under his guidance the program experienced dramatic growth and students were highly successful in developing professional careers throughout the Baltimore/Washington area. He will be missed by his family, friends, and colleagues.
A Virtual Funeral will be held on Thursday, December 10th, 2020 at 12pm. Interment is private. Virtual shiva will be held on Thursday, December 10 at 7pm. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Graduate Student Emergency Fund at UMBC. To make a gift in memory of Dr. Rothstein, please make checks payable to the UMBC Foundation and in the memo line designate the gift to the Graduate Student Emergency Fund, then mail to the UMBC Foundation, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250.