Thomas Waldman, former staff member at the School of Arts and Sciences and adjunct associate professor in the department of history, died on July 1 at age 79.

Dr. Waldman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University. He earned a DPhil from Lincoln College, University of Oxford.

A fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a distinguished medieval scholar, he specialized in 12th-century France, in particular on the Abbey of St. Denis in Paris and its abbot, Suger. In 1983, he received a Research Foundation Award from Penn for his research on An examination of manuscripts from the Library of the Abbey of St. Denis.

He began his Penn career in 1971 as a bibliographer of rare books and manuscripts and an adjunct associate professor of history. He soon discovered his affinity for fundraising and, in 1975, joined the staff of Development and Alumni Relations. In his role as director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the School of Arts and Sciences, he oversaw the raising of gifts that contributed enormously to the establishment of scholarships, the advancement of research and the creation of innovative community-service programs. He retired from his fundraising role in 2007 and continued as a visiting scholar in teaching  medieval history.

Dr. Waldman was a co-founder of the Delaware Valley Medieval Association and helped secure a grant from the Lily Foundation that enabled it to flourish. He served as the associate director of the Lilly/Pennsylvania Program.

He is survived by his brother, Ronald and sister-in-law, Lee; his two nieces, Elizabeth Haspiel (Joseph) and Margot Waldman (Tim Lemmon); and five grandnieces and nephews, Sarah Novack, Jacob Haspiel, Giles and George and Giselle Lemmon.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 22 at noon at the Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany, 330 South 13th Street, in Philadelphia.