David Epperson. Photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

David Epperson, 76, former dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, died from an apparent heart attack on June 20 while attending a YMCA meeting, according to this obituary in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Epperson was dean of the school from 1972 until he retired in 2001. He was the longest-serving dean at Pitt and the longest-serving dean of any American school of social work when he retired, the obituary said.

During his tenure enrollment at the social work school tripled and its ranking climbed to the top 10 percent of accredited graduate social work programs in the United States.

It is bittersweet that Epperson died at a meeting at the downtown YMCA. He had been involved with the organization since he was a freshman at Pitt in 1958.

Epperson is survived by his wife, two daughters and three grandchildren.