In Memoriam: Robert Carlisle

MEMORANDUM

TO:                 The St. Lawrence University Community

FROM:           President Daniel F. Sullivan

RE:                 Lee Professor Emeritus of History Robert B. Carlisle

DATE:            December 1, 2005
 
I write to share with you the very sad news that Lee Professor of History Emeritus Robert B. Carlisle passed away on Thursday, December 1. He was one of the University's legendary faculty members, and will be greatly missed.
 
Bob joined the faculty at St. Lawrence in 1958, after teaching at Boston University. A graduate of Clark University, he earned the Ph.D. at Cornell University and also studied at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, as a Cornell-Glasgow Exchange Fellow, and the Institute d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, as a Fulbright Scholar. A pioneer in many aspects of University life, he founded St. Lawrence's first international studies program, in Rouen, France, and taught in the first year of the program, 1964 to 65. He also studied in France during a sabbatical, in 1968-69.
 
The first elected chair of the Faculty Council from 1970 to 1971, Bob received the Owen D. Young Outstanding Faculty Award, by vote of the student body, in 1967; he was "tapped" for membership in the leadership honorary Omicron Delta Kappa in 1966. He also served as an elected faculty delegate to the Board of Trustees from 1972 through 1975, and chaired the history department from 1972 through 1975, and again from 1983 through 1986. Prior to his service as chair, the history department and government department were combined. Bob was also, before being named Lee Professor of History, the first Munsil Professor of History, appointed to the position when it was established in 1972.
 
One of his former students, Peter Rutkoff  '64, now a professor of history at Kenyon College, said this about Bob's scholarly work: "Robert Carlisle was an expert in modern French intellectual and social history. His work on the Saint-Simonians, a group of 19th-century French political visionaries and technocrats, showed definitively how modern, Post-War France, with its commitment to planned economy and industrial organization,  had roots deep in the previous century. The Saint-Simonians, he taught, provided the intellectual foundation for modern France. In addition, Dr. Carlisle's deep love of literature, the arts and the city of Paris all found their way into both his teaching and scholarship."
 
In 1988, his book The Proffered Crown: Saint-Simonianism and the Doctrine of Hope was published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. He was also the author of the book The Saint-Simonians and the Foundation of the Paris-Lyon Railroad, published in 1957, and a number of articles for academic journals. In recognition of his many contributions to the St. Lawrence community, the Piskor Hall seminar room was named the Robert B. Carlisle Seminar Room. After 33 years of devoted service to the University, Bob retired in August of 1991, and gave the Convocation address to begin the academic year that same month.
 
He was married to Susan G. Carlisle, who was an English professor at SUNY Canton and Tufts University; she predeceased him in 2000. Bob is survived by his three children, R. Bruce Carlisle Jr. '78, of Larkspur, California; Julia E. Carlisle '82, of Juneau, Alaska; and Christopher G. Carlisle, of Berkeley, California; and three grandchildren, Andrew and Courtney Carlisle of Larkspur; and Marcel Carlisle, of Berkeley.
 
A memorial service in Lexington, Massachusetts, is tentatively planned for January 22. We are talking with his family about ways to remember him here on campus, including a service at a later date. At this time, the family has asked that those who wish to do so may make a gift in Bob's honor to the University's Jeffrey Campbell Fellowship; contact the development office for details about making those gifts. If you would like to share your thoughts and memories with the family, you may send an e-mail to Bruce Carlisle at brucecarlislejr@yahoo.com.
 
I know you join me, Ann and the entire Laurentian family in expressing deepest sympathy to the Carlisles and their many friends and associates.