Former English Department chair Alan Grob dies

Former English Department chair Alan Grob dies

Alan Grob, professor emeritus of English and a former chair of the department, died Sept. 21. He was an award-winning teacher, a widely known scholar in Shakespeare and Romantic poetry and a former faculty associate at Hanszen College. He was 75.

ALAN GROB

Grob joined the Rice English Department in 1961 and served as chairman from 1981 to 1987. He taught courses in Shakespeare, British Romantic poetry, Wordsworth and Keats and Victorian literature at Rice for more than 40 years before retiring in 2002. He served as a faculty associate at Hanszen College from 1962 until 2002. After retirement, Grob continued to influence the university by funding scholarships and programs.

He was the recipient of multiple Brown Awards for Superior Teaching as well as the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

He and his wife, Shirley, established the Alan and Shirley Grob Fund for Shakespeare in Performance to ensure Shakespeare continues to be performed at Rice.

The Alan Grob Prize, a scholarship named in Grob’s honor upon his retirement, is awarded annually to a current or graduating Rice undergraduate who, through service to the larger community, has demonstrated the most devotion to the needs and interests of the economically and culturally disadvantaged.

“Alan Grob was one of the best and most beloved teachers in the history of the English department,” said Helena Michie, English department chair and the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor in Humanities. “His enthusiasm for his favorite subjects — from Shakespeare to Romanticism — was contagious and was passed on to students and colleagues alike.”

Michie said Grob was dedicated to and passionate about Rice and, as a faculty member, deeply committed to what he felt were the best ideas and practices in undergraduate education. “I also knew him as a fierce politician and an even fiercer fan of Houston sports,” Michie said.

An on-campus memorial service will be held 4 p.m. Oct 25. No funeral service is planned. 

To sign an online guest book honoring Grob, visit http://www.rice.edu/grob. The Department of English will share these memorials with his family.

The family requests that gifts in Grob’s name be given to the “Alan and Shirley Grob Fund for Shakespeare in Performance.” Checks should be made to “Rice University” and  include the fund number “H21469 398030” on the face of the check. Mail checks to Rice University, 6100 Main St. MS80, Houston, Texas, 77005.