Robinson, Karl F. (Karl Frederic), 1904-1967
Dates
- Existence: 1904-1967
Biography
Karl Frederic Robinson was born in Chicago on March 4, 1904, the son of Carl Eldred and Emma (Germer) Robinson. Robinson earned his Ph.D. in Speech from Northwestern University in 1940, and joined NU's faculty in 1945 in speech education. Robinson resigned from the Northwestern faculty on August 31, 1965 to become Professor of Speech and Director of the Graduate Program in Speech at California State College at Hayward. He was a prolific writer authoring more than one hundred articles concerning speech and speech education.
Robinson attended Proviso High School and graduated with honors from the University of Illinois in 1925, earning a B.S. degree in Education. After graduating from Illinois, Robinson taught in several secondary schools including: Charleston (Illinois), 1925-1926; Central High School, Kalamazoo (Michigan), 1926-1928; Proviso Township High School, Maywood (Illinois), 1928-1930; Central High School, Battle Creek (Michigan), 1930-1934; and Ann Arbor (Michigan), in 1935. He took an A.M. degree in Speech and Education in 1935 from the University of Michigan and also attended summer school classes at the University of Wisconsin in 1935. From 1935 to 1938 Robinson was an Instructor in Speech and Director of Forensics at Albion College in Michigan. He entered the doctoral program of the School of Speech at Northwestern University in 1938 and from 1938 to 1941 he also was an Instructor of Public Speaking and Director of Inter-Collegiate Debate, Director of the National High School Institute in Speech, and Director of Teacher Training in the School. Robinson was awarded a Ph.D. in Speech from Northwestern in 1940. From 1941 to 1944 he was Assistant Professor of Speech at the University of Iowa and Chairman of the Speech Department at University High School. Robinson left Iowa in 1945 to return to Northwestern where, from 1945 to 1947, he held a joint appointment in the Schools of Speech and Education as an Assistant Professor of Speech Education. In 1947 Robinson advanced to the rank of Associate Professor and became Chairman of the Department of Speech Education. He became a Professor of Speech Education in 1951. Robinson resigned from the Northwestern faculty on August 31, 1965 to become Professor of Speech and Director of the Graduate Program in Speech at California State College at Hayward. He served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Washington during the summer of 1966 and served in a similar capacity with the Oregon Department of Higher Education during the summer of 1967.
Robinson held many administrative and other academic posts while at Northwestern. He directed the National High School Institute again from 1944 to 1965 and also directed the student teaching program of the School of Speech. He served as an Instructor for the Traffic Institute and the Transportation Center, chaired the General Faculty Committee, was a member of the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics and of the Teacher Education Committee. He consulted for Northwestern's Financial Public Relations Program.
Robinson attained the rank of Second Lieutenant while serving in the U.S. Army Field Artillery from 1925 to 1935. During Wnr_1a War II he was a civilian instructor for the U.S. Army Air Force Meteorology program and later the U.S. Navy V-12 program. Following the war he served as a consultant on communication problems for the U.S. Navy orientation course (NROTC).
Robinson had many professional affiliations. He was a member of the Speech Association of America, served as its vice-president and as a member of the executive board, chaired the Committee on Speech in Secondary Schools and the Visual Arts Committee, and served on the Special Committee on Teacher Certification. He was an associate editor of the Quarterly Journal of Speech, and an associate editor and later editor and advisory editor for The Speech Teacher. Robinson was a member and president of both the Central States Speech Association and the Illinois Speech Association. He served as a member of the steering committee for the Illinois Secondary School Curriculum Projects (1949-1951) and belonged to the Western Speech Association, the National Society for the Study of Communication, the American Educational Theatre Association, the National Education Association and the Association of California State College Professors.
Robinson often spoke at workshops and conferences and consulted for many businesses and associations including Pan-American Airways, U.S. Steel Corporation, the National Metal Trades Association, the Natural Gas Pipeline Company, Republic Steel Company, the American Medical Association and the National Safety Council. Robinson was a member of many professional and honorary fraternities including Phi Delta Kappa, Kappa Delta Pi, Sigma Delta Sigma, Kappa Phi Sigma, Theta Alpha Phi and Scabbard and Blade.
He was a prolific writer authoring more than one hundred articles concerning speech and speech education. He was also the author of Teaching Speech in the Secondary School (Longmans, Green; 1951 and 1954); Teaching Speech, Methods and Materials, with E.J. Kerikas (McKay, 1963); Practical Speech for Modern Business, with Robert Martin and Russell Tomlinson (Appleton, 1963); and Speech in Action, with Charlotte Lee (Scott,Foresman, 1965).
Robinson married Francis Knight on December 31, 1927. The Robinsons had two children, Karl Willard (Northwestern Medical School, 1955) and Frances Knight (Alsdorf) (Northwestern School of Education, 1961). Robinson suffered a coronary attack on May 20, 1967 and died on June 2, 1967.