Faculty
Robert L. Simon
Robert L. Simon, the Walcott-Bartlett Professor of Philosophy emeritus, was born on May 12, 1941, in Brooklyn, N.Y., a son of Jacob and Frances Simon. He graduated from Lawrence (N.Y.) High School in 1959 before earning a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College in 1963 and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969.
In 1965, Simon met his future wife, Joy Weinfeld, on a blind date. Two years later they married, and in 1968 the couple moved to Clinton when he joined Hamilton’s Philosophy Department. Over the course of nearly 50 years, Simon would hold four endowed chairs and receive numerous awards from the College, including the Student Assembly’s Sidney J. Wertimer Award and the Alumni Association’s Bell Ringer Award.
An authority on sports ethics, Simon taught courses in political, social, medical, and legal philosophy. He is the author of six books, including Fair Play: Sports, Values and Society, now in its fourth edition. A past president of the Philosophic Society for the Study of Sport, he was awarded its Distinguished Scholar Award in 2004. Other honors included fellowships with the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Humanities Center, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. The Institute for International Sport named him one of the “100 Most Influential Sports Educators.”
Equally effective in the classroom and on the links, Simon coached the Hamilton men’s golf team from 1986 to 2000. A highlight of his tenure was the team’s appearance in the 1998 NCAA Division III National Championship. He also served many years as a rules official for the New York State Golf Association.
As a scholar-coach, Simon believed that participation in sports enhances intellectual life. In interviews on radio and television and in columns in national newspapers, he addressed such issues as gender equity, comparable worth, moral judgment, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports. In 2016, an entire issue of the Journal of the Philosophy of Sports was dedicated to his scholarship. Writing in the first-ever Festschrift by the journal, the editor said: “I’m sure my fellow contributors would agree with me that no Festschrift or other tribute can adequately capture the remarkable influence that Bob Simon has had on our field. We have followed his lead on many issues; we have argued with him on others; we have proposed alternate answers. But most important of all, we have not ignored him.”
Neither was Simon ignored by his former students. The citation that announced his selection as the 2010 recipient of the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award noted: “You embody the spirit of community that exemplifies Hamilton College not only through your tireless commitment to students, but through your modesty, humor, and devotion to family, friends, and colleagues.”
Bob and Joy Simon enjoyed travel and golf. Together, they were a fixture at almost every game, home or away, of the Hamilton men’s and women’s basketball teams. Simon was a longtime supporter of the Kirkland Town Library, A Better Chance Program, and the Clinton Central School Foundation.
Last October, the College announced that a new PGA-quality golf practice facility, scheduled to open next summer, will be named in Simon’s honor. A celebration of his life will take place in the College Chapel on Sept. 8 at 4 p.m.
Robert L. Simon died on May 31, 2018, at the age of 77. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his sons, Bruce ’91 and Marc ’94, and six grandchildren.
Richard F. Somer
Richard F. Somer, the Upson Professor of Oratory and Communication emeritus, was born on Dec. 7, 1934, in Centralia, Ill., a son of Shubert Somer and the former Marie Dickenson. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1955, a master’s degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1960, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1967.
Somer began his teaching career at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y., the State University of New York at Geneseo, and the University of Denver. He arrived on College Hill in 1977 and chaired the speech department from 1982 until his retirement in 2000, helping to broaden its focus to include new courses in mass communication. In 1994, he was appointed to the Upson Chair of Rhetoric and Oratory.
Somer’s classes could be as angst-producing as they were popular, with former students writing to thank him for his influence on their lives. John O’Neill, the Edmund A. LeFevre Professor of English emeritus, recounted in a memorial presentation to the College faculty in March a reflection on Somer by John Christopher ’83:
“In class, there wasn’t a person who was unaware of Dick’s presence. He often reminded us of this during our oral presentations, when his voice would rise up from the back of the class: ‘I can’t hear you, John!’ I have since had many opportunities for public speaking from the courtroom to the boardroom, and to this day, I still hear his voice in the back of my mind. Believe me, I no longer have any problems with projection.”
Ursula Beitter, who taught German at Hamilton from 1981 to 1985, wrote, “Richard was a remarkably consistent individual; he applied the principles of rhetorical analysis outside the classroom, with friends, with sales people, with anyone who felt they wanted to engage him in a conversation. If there was a point to be made, Richard would pull out all the stops and follow the argument to its logical conclusion.”
Somer’s scholarly interests focused on the principles of rhetoric, civic engagement, and the power of speech to shape public affairs. His article “The Public Man of Letters,” focusing on the poetry of Archibald MacLeish, was published in 1988. He also admired Abraham Lincoln and studied the ways the president used speech to mold and inspire the nation. Somer was a regular participant in the annual Lincoln Symposium in Gettysburg, Pa.
A collector of antiques, Oriental carpets, and American glassware, Somer was also a founding member of the Mohawk Valley Astronomical Society and a member of the New York State Speech Communication Association, serving that organization in a variety of positions.
In his presentation, O’Neill summed up his colleague and friend thusly: “Richard Somer understood, in a profound way, the value of public speech to move listeners, shape the political marketplace, and gather a community. He believed steadfastly in the ability of speech to awaken the spirit of his students, to inform them, and to challenge them.”
Richard F. Somer died on Feb. 12, 2018 (ironically, Lincoln’s birthday), at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, the former Arlene Kullen whom he had married in 1959, a son, Shubert Somer ’84, a daughter, and a grandson.
