Obituary of Betty Robinett

Betty Wallace Robinett passed away at the age of 91 on Jan. 13, 2011 at her home in State College. Born Betty Jane Wallace, on June 23, 1919 in Detroit, Michigan, she was the daughter of Henry Guy Wallace and Beulah (Reid) Wallace with an older brother, Emerson. She received both the Bachelor and Master of Art in Latin from Wayne State University in 1940 and 1941 and taught Latin and English in the Dearborn Public Schools until she returned to graduate school at the University of Michigan in 1945, completing her Ph. D. in 1951. She was the first woman to receive a Ph. D. in Linguistics from UM and during her time there was an Instructor and Administrative Assistant for the English Language Institute. She moved to Puerto Rico in 1950 where she held faculty positions at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan and InterAmerican University in San German, with one year stints back at the University of Michigan. While in Puerto Rico, she met Ralph Robinett to whom she was married from 1952 to 1959 and had one son, Richard. Betty returned to the States as a faculty member of Ball State University, becoming Assistant Head of the English Department in 1968, at which time she moved as a Full Professor to the University of Minnesota where she stayed until her retirement in 1988. She was named first an Assistant and then an Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Minnesota and retired as Professor Emerita of Linguistics. During a long and distinguished academic career, she published more than 16 books and edited volumes, 26 publications, and numerous conference proceedings. She was elected President of the national organization of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in her field of specialization, English as a Second Language (ESL) and edited the TESOL Quarterly from 1967 - 1972. She was a consultant for the U.S. Information Agency, Director of several Summer Language Institutes and active in the leadership of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). She was a member of the University of Minnesota's first Delegation to the People's Republic of China in 1979, and returned there representing Minnesota six more times. After retirement, Betty moved to State College to be close to her son (Richard), her daughter-in-law (Sarah Malone) and their two children (son James Robinett, now living in Portland Oregon, and daughter Katherine Robinett of State College.) She remained active and produced several cross-word puzzle books in other languages (including Latin) for use in public schools. Betty also greatly enjoyed attending Penn State Women's Volleyball games with her friends and having her grandchildren over for ice cream sodas. Betty was born and raised in the Christian Science faith and was involved in church affairs wherever she lived. She is remembered at First Church of Christ, Scientist, in State College with gratitude and love. She served there at various times as Second Reader, Board Chair, Reading Room Librarian - and as Building and Grounds Chair, in which capacity she oversaw an extensive building repair and reinforcement project. Her thoughtful and capable organizational skills were greatly appreciated. To her colleagues, she was a consummate academic professional, and was also known as someone who worked hard in her administrative career to improve the environment for female faculty and graduate students. To her family, she will always be remembered as an exceptional mother and grandmother who will be sorely missed. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 19, 2011, at the Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton St., State College, with the Reverend Doctor Sarah Malone officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made her name to the SPCA, 2451 General Potter Highway, Centre Hall, PA 16828.