Roger L. Emerson
(1934-2025)
In memory of Professor Emeritus, Roger Emerson, whose dedication to scholarship and mentorship left a lasting impact on our community, his friend and colleague Professor Emeritus Tom Guinsburg writes the following:
When I arrived in 1967, Roger was already something of a stalwart, entrusted with the important task of coordinating the then sole first-year history course (History 20), in which he performed with great dedication. After that he took on the function of Director of Graduate Studies, a role he excelled in by expanding the mandate to include memorable receptions in his home that gave students and faculty the rare occasion to socialize with one another. By force of example and generous counsel he motivated many students into pursuing and distinguish themselves in academic careers.
His host of scholarly achievements, internationally recognized with awards, is well summarized by the Harris Funeral Home obituary.
Yet those who knew him best were impressed even more by his strength of character. He truly deserved the epithet sui generis as an admiring descriptor, and would surely qualify for the old Reader's Digest rubric "The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met." The younger Department members will have a privilege that the surviving elders will never have, reading his unpublished memoir, in the Weldon Archives, to remain closed for a number of years.
Yet he will live on in our memories and in the foundations he set for a Department of ever higher quality.
- Tom Guinsburg
