Robert William Harrison Papers (Mss. Gr. 181)

Biographical or Historical Information

Robert William Harrison was born November 3, 1915, in Napoleon, Ohio, the fourth of seven children in his family. Harrison lived the early part of his life in Napoleon, graduating from Napoleon High School in 1934. He began studying at Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio, with the intention of becoming a medical doctor, taking courses emphasizing the biological sciences, and graduating in 1938 with a B.A. in chemistry and zoology. He began the graduate program in Physical Education at Springfield College, in Springfield, MA, but transferred to the biology program at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, in 1939. He was granted his M.A. in Biology the same year, writing his thesis on the genetic anomaly of hunchback in the fish, lebistes reticulatus. Harrison studied at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA in the summers of 1939 and 1941, studying Physiology and receiving a certificate in Marine Invertebrate Zoology.

Harrison began attending Yale University in 1941, working on his M.S. in Zoology. He received his degree the following year, then joined the Naval Reserve, serving active duty until 1946. During his time in the Navy, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps, serving at Quonset Point, R.I., and in Pensacola, Florida. Harrison participated in research on high altitude training, pilot survival training, and aviation physiology, and authored a research report, An Analysis of a Random Sample of Navy Air-Sea Rescues, in 1946.

Following his active duty service, Harrison remained in the Naval Reserve, becoming the commanding officer of Naval Research Company 1-2, and was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1965. He later became Assistant Chief of Naval Research.

When Harrison completed his active duty at the end of World War II, he returned to Yale. He completed his Ph.D. in zoology in 1949, writing his dissertation, Studies on the Dissociation of Biochemical and Morphological Aspects of Embryonic Development. Throughout his time as a graduate student, at Springfield, Wesleyan, and Yale, Harrison had supported his studies by serving as a teaching assistant. During his Ph.D. work, he also received a National Cancer Institute Research Fellowship.

In 1949 Harrison came to the University of Rhode Island as an instructor in the Zoology Department. Until his retirement in 1977, he taught several courses in physiology, including Human Physiology, General and Cellular Physiology, the Physiology of Exercise, and occasional seminars in zoology. He also taught several courses at Brown University and Wesleyan University in the summers of 1957 and 1958. In addition to his teaching, Harrison supervised graduate research and undergraduate independent work, and acted as advisor to many students, including those preparing for medical, dental, and veterinary studies.

Harrison was actively involved in the governance of the University. He was active in the Faculty Senate from its inception in 1960 until his retirement, and served on a number of Senate committees, including the Executive Committee, the Constitution and By-Laws Committee, and the Curricular Affairs Committee. He served as Chairman of the Faculty Senate from 1963-64, and as Parliamentarian of the Senate, the Arts and Sciences Faculty, and the URI General Faculty. Activity in other organizations included the American Association of University Professors, Graduate Faculty, Graduate Council, and Faculty Center Association. He served as Acting Chairman of the Zoology Department in 1974-75, and as Chairman of the Biological Sciences Faculty Assembly (the Bio-Café) in 1966-67. He also served as Associate Dean for Academic Programs of the URI Division of University Extension in Providence from 1968-69, then as Acting Dean of the Extension from 1969-70.

Harrison was involved in a number of research projects during his time at URI, both independently and working with graduate students. Several of the research projects were published as papers in professional journals or were presented as lectures at conferences. He worked as a consultant at the URI Crime Lab in the late 1950s and early 1960s, examining crime scene evidence for local and state police, and for the Rhode Island Department of Health, and doing research to improve the accuracy of several techniques of evidence analysis in criminal investigations. Harrison did critical reviews of manuscripts for Holt, Rinehart, and Winston publishers, and planned a textbook, to be titled “Applied Physiology of Physical Activity,” which was never completed.

Some of the professional organizations of which he was a member included the American Academy of Sports Medicine, the American Society of Zoologists, American Institute of Biological Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Physiological Society, and the Rhode Island Academy of Science, among others. He also actively maintained his connection with Oberlin College, as a member of the Heisman Club, and as an Alumni Admissions Representative for the Rhode Island area. He maintained a close connection to the Boy Scouts of America for much of his life, becoming an Eagle Scout in 1932, and later a Scoutmaster for Kingston Troop 1, and a member of the Narragansett District Committee.

From the time he began teaching at URI, Harrison lived in South County, R.I.; in Kingston from 1949-75, then in Wakefield until 2005. He was active in many local organizations, clubs, and in politics. He was a member of the South Kingstown Republican Town Committee, and chaired the Bipartisan Commission to Review Town Government for the Town Council in 1965-66. He was on the Board of Directors of the Animal Rescue League of South County, a member of the University Club, and active in the Kingston Congregational Church, where he was on the Board of Trustees, and on several church committees. He also sang in the church choir, and with the South County Chamber Singers Chorus.

Harrison was married twice; first, in 1943, to Marion Billings. They had three daughters, Suzanne in 1945, and twins Barbara and Elizabeth in 1946. They divorced in 1973, and in 1974 Harrison married a former classmate from his time at Oberlin College, Ruth (Lightner) Hastings. A lifelong athlete, he played football at Napoleon High School and for the Oberlin Yeomen, becoming captain of the Oberlin team in 1937. He remained active throughout his life, regularly bicycling, playing handball, and actively sailing, maintaining memberships in the Point Judith Yacht Club and the U.S. Yacht Racing Union. Robert Harrison died on January 31, 2005.