In Memoriam

Robert F. Marler

Robert F. Marler Jr., 74, retired head of the English department at Temple University and founder of the precursor to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, died of heart failure Sept. 1 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

During his career at Temple, Marler founded the American Studies Program at Temple in the early ’70s as a program that would be connected to the city of Philadelphia.

Temple’s American Studies curriculum was featured in Change magazine at the time, and the program has since garnered considerable national attention and acclaim.

"Robert Marler was a man of boundless energy and administrative creativity, intensely engaged in the life of the university,” said professor of English and American studies Miles Orvell.

According to his students and everyone who knew Marler, he will be remembered as someone who was passionate about teaching, understanding and an absolute master of the classroom.