His courses were popular, engaging students on issues in African American and Jewish history. On Dec. 20, senior instructor William "Bill" Toll of the UO's history department died of heart failure. He was 74.

"Bill Toll served the department and the profession of history for well over 40 years," said Daniel Pope, professor emeritus. In his courses, Pope added, Toll "upheld standards but was open to innovative student projects and handled controversy in the classroom fairly and judiciously. We will all miss him greatly."

Toll's career began at the University of Michigan in the early 1970s after he earned a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1979 he published "The Resurgence of Race: Black Social Theory from Reconstruction to the Pan African Congresses," a book that examined the ideas of African American intellectuals as creative social thinkers in the postbellum era.

He later turned to American Jewish history. His research led to a pioneering book "The Making of an Ethnic Middle Class: Portland Jewry over Four Generations" in 1982. In 2009, he was co-editor and a leading contributor to "Jews of the Pacific Coast: Reinventing Community on America’s Edge."

At the UO, Toll taught courses in both the history department and the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies.

"Bill taught one of our required courses in American Jewish history and developed a Judaic studies/history elective course entitled Racism and Antisemitism," said Deborah A. Green, director of the Judaic Studies Program. "Students who love history loved Bill. Many described him as the best professor they ever had."

Survivors are his wife Junko, son Kenshi and brother Mitchell.

A memorial gathering will be held at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 23, at the Center for Spiritual Living, 390 Vernal St., in Eugene. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Department of History, University of Oregon; or Judaic Studies Program, University of Oregon.