Douglas Stuart Gatlin, third son of William Arthur Gatlin and Claire Antoinette Denby Gatlin was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 2, 1928. He attended Jacksonville public schools and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1946. He took the B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Florida. After serving in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps during the Korean War, Gatlin earned the Ph.D in Political Science from the University of North Carolina in 1960. For the following four years he was a member of the Political Science faculty at Wake Forest University. When Florida Atlantic University was founded at Boca Raton in 1964, he joined the Political Science faculty and remained at F.A.U. for the rest of his career. Gatlin retired in 1996 and was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1997.
Gatlin was the first recipient of the F.A.U. Distinguished Teacher award in 1969. He authored or co-authored numerous publications in scholarly journals and books in American electoral behavior, public opinion and political sociology, and received research grant support from the National Science Foundation, the Eagleton Foundation, the Florida Department of State, the F.A.U. Division of Sponsored Research and other granting agencies. Gatlin served two terms as Chair of the Political Science Department at F.A.U., as Acting Dean of the College of Social Science in 1989-90, and as a member of many University committees. He is survived by his companion, George Michael Samuel of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a nephew, William Arthur Gatlin, III and his wife, Claudia Manning Gatlin, of Jacksonville, Florida, and three great-nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Monday, January 21, 2019 from 4:00 - 7:00 at the Kraeer-Fairchild Funeral Home, 4061 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale. Douglas's funeral service with military honors will commence immediately upon the conclusion of visitation.
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