Robert Nelson Phillips Jr.
May 21, 1936-August 14, 1993
Born in Montebello, California, Bob Phillips taught Spanish and Portugese at Miami University for thirty years. He served as President of the Oxford Skating Club and as an announcer at various competitions. An enthusiastic adult ice dancer, he passed his Bronze Dances in 1983. He passed away on August 14, 1993 at the age of fifty-seven.
Photos courtesy Walter Havighurst Special Collections and University Archives, Miami University Libraries (Oxford, OH)
Bob's memorial from Miami University: "In 1963 Robert Phillips came to Miami University to begin teaching in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. The son of Nelson and Clare Belle Patterson Phillips, Bob was born May 21, 1936, in Montebello, California. After receiving his bachelor's degree in Spanish from the University of Redlands in California, he began his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he subsequently earned the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Spanish. At the University of Wisconsin, Bob soon established himself as a serious and promising scholar who in his first year of graduate studies earned the distinction of being the outstanding teaching assistant in the Department of Spanish. Throughout his graduate career, 1958-62, he was consistently commended for his excellence in the classroom by both students and senior faculty. In 1962 Bob was awarded a prestigious fellowship which enabled him to complete the research for his doctoral dissertation, 'Los Angeles Spanish: A Descriptive Analysis.' He spent countless hours interviewing Spanish speakers in Los Angeles and completing the follow-up studies to arrive at his analysis and conclusions. In addition to being an example of outstanding scholarship, Bob's dissertation was one of the longest in the history of the University of Wisconsin's Spanish Department. Even today it is considered a pioneering investigative study and a valuable contribution to the field of United States-Hispanic linguistics. From the beginning of his tenure at Miami University Bob proved to be a most vital and indispensable member of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. His career at Miami included administrative duties as well as teaching. He served for many years as assistant department chair and director of the language laboratory, and from August, 1991, until January, 1993, he was proud to serve as acting chair of the department. At last, in May 1993, in the final stages of cancer, Bob had no choice but to retire from an illustrious career spanning a period of thirty years. The remarkable pattern of effective and excellent teaching initiated at Wisconsin continued and reached its highest level at Miami University. Bob had the enviable reputation of being a dynamic and inspiring teacher. Even the most apathetic students could easily discern in Robert Phillips the epitome of a master teacher. His passion and enthusiasm for teaching Spanish became legendary at Miami University. Most of his students, while admiring his knowledge and mastery of Spanish, at the same time praised his innovative teaching techniques and sharp wit. For many of Bob's students learning was not only a demanding experience, but also an unforgettable and entertaining one. His uncompromising goal was to create a climate in which students might practice and communicate in Spanish without fearing professorial ridicule, sarcasm, or scorn when errors occurred. Whenever Bob challenged his students or peers with a sticky grammatical concept or the complex etymology of a Spanish word, you could sense his excitement and intensity. At other times, in a less serious and more jocular mood, his eyes would twinkle as he made puns in Spanish or English, or as he told subtle, but witty linguistic jokes. His characteristic smile often gave way to spirited and booming laughter which reverberated throughout Irvin Hall. It never took Bob very long to establish a wonderful and lasting rapport with every class. He treated all of his students with fairness and openness. This openness also extended to personal matters, for example his lifestyle, which he never attempted to conceal from his students, colleagues or friends. Bob's loyalty, devotion and sense of professional responsibility to his students may be best understood from the time when, realizing that he was physically unable to continue teaching. Bob decided to request sick leave for the remainder of his last semester at Miami. The following excerpts are taken from Bob's detailed and explicit memo to his Spanish 408 class dated February 8. 1993: 'I am sorry to tell you that I am ill. I was diagnosed as having cancer in January 1992 ... I started off this semester optimistic and feeling good... it is obvious that my health is weakening... I will, of course, always welcome calls and notes from you. I'm sorry to have to leave the class at this point! I had just learned all of your names! I will miss being in the classroom. but I am very optimistic about the ultimate outcome of the treatments that I will be having.'... Bob's service record, apart from his academic activities and teaching duties, is staggering. Always working at a high energy level, Bob was very active as member or chair of numerous departmental and university committees. A special contribution was his work as a coordinator of the bi-annual teaching conference for high school teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. It was a special treat for him to work with these teachers, many of whom were his former students. He was advisor to Miami's chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity from 1964-72, and was also a residence hall faculty resource person from 1980 to 1982. In the area of community service, Bob was a volunteer crisis counselor at Together from 197 4 to 1979, and served on the Board of Directors for several years.
Aside from his teaching and other professional obligations, frequently on weekends Bob enjoyed soaring aloft in his glider plane; he was an avid member of the Soaring Society of Dayton. Years later he became a dedicated figure skater, and eventually acquired skill in ice dancing. In addition to serving as an official announcer for skating events, he also performed at the school figure skating competitions, and completed one term as President of the Oxford Skating Club. Just two years before his death, Bob, at age 55, had taken up the even more strenuous sport of downhill skiing. Undoubtedly, Bob's favorite hobby was gardening and landscaping. Because of his great love for plants, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Miami decided that it would be fitting to have a garden planted in the courtyard of Irvin Hall in Bob's memory. Perhaps his second favorite pastime was cooking, especially Spanish cuisine, as evidenced in the annual Tapas parties which he hosted in his home. Arguably, the annual Tapas party was the most popular and successful social event for faculty and graduate students in the Spanish Department. Bob was ecstatic about preparing the delicious authentic Spanish appetizers for his guests, and took immense pride in selecting and serving the full-bodied wines which have made the Rioja region in Spain famous. For many of us who are Hispanists, and have traveled in Spain, the atmosphere at these gatherings was indeed reminiscent of the Tapa bars found in Madrid's Plaza Mayor. In his two-year battle with cancer, Bob tenaciously maintained his characteristic optimism, objectivity and upbeat perspective. He always had thought of the Spanish department as his second family, a reality whose dimensions broadened and deepened during his illness. Once in the later stages of his illness Bob remarked that he did not fear the reality and prospect of dying, and that he was not concerned for himself, but rather for his family and loved ones who would be left behind. After his death on August 14, 1993, one friend observed, 'Bob was always a unique person even at the end.'"
*Source for inclusion: National AIDS Memorial, The Names Project Memorial Quilt
