Oral History Interview with Robert Romer; Sponsored by the Friends of the Amherst College Library

Interviewed by Hugh Hawkins and John Servos on March 12, 2010

Robert Romer, former professor of physics and author of a book on slavery in western Massachusetts, was interviewed by Hugh Hawkins and John Servos, professors of history and American studies.

Biographies

Robert H. Romer, class of 1952, professor emeritus of physics, arrived at Amherst in 1955. His interest was low-temperature research and nuclear resonance in liquid helium-3. In 1969, Romer, who had been a civil right activist, spent a year teaching at Voorhees College. He served as editor of the American Journal of Physics for thirteen years before retiring in 2001 from the Amherst faculty. His book Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts was published in 2009.

Hugh Hawkins, professor emeritus, joined the faculty in 1960 and was the Anson D. Morse Professor of History and American Studies until his retirement in 2000. He helped to build the history and the American studies departments and served as chief architect for the first-year Liberal Arts studies program.

John Servos is the Anson D. Morse Professor of History. He teaches survey courses on the history of western medicine, the history of science, and the history of science in America. He is a regular participant in the First-Year Seminar and author of Physical Chemistry from Ostwald to Pauling.


Rights and Citation Information

Educational, not-for-profit use is permitted without the owner’s permission if the participants and publisher are acknowledged.

For publication and citation information, please see the catalog record for this recording.

For further information contact Archives & Special Collections at archives@amherst.edu.