Gray has always been an outspoken champion of rigor, free inquiry, and other things that universities are actually supposed to be doing. She is no shrinking violet in the face of controversy. In 1969, Gray headed up the faculty committee that determined the fate of that sociology prof. at UChicago - the one who was the catalyst for the student uprising and occupation of the admin. building. University administrations who have preferred cow towing to student “demands” over the past few years would be flummoxed by that situation, as her leadership and the committee recommendation to terminate (with maybe a “transition year” for the prof) was unwavering in the face of chaos. By the time she took the helm at Chicago, she had already been dean of Weinberg College at NU and provost at Yale. She was a rightly-admired university leader. I thought of her as a literal giant (she is an imposing figure) but she was a giant in other ways too.