Robert W. Fuller *61

Bob died July 15, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif.

He was born Oct. 26, 1936, in Summit, N.J. Bob graduated from Oberlin in 1956 and earned his Ph.D. in physics at Princeton in 1961. With John Wheeler, Bob coauthored a paper on wormholes: “Causality and Multiply Connected Space-Time.”

Bob taught physics and mathematics at Columbia, Barnard, and Wesleyan. With Fred Byron he co-authored Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics. After serving as dean of faculty at Trinity College, at age 33 Bob became the president of Oberlin. He supported the students’ anti-war demonstrations and feminist and gay liberation movements. During his tenure Oberlin reformed its curriculum, eliminated distribution requirements, and incorporated student representation into the decision-making structure of the college. He resigned in 1974.

Along with the civil rights movement, Bob focused on the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. He became active as a writer, citizen diplomat, and public speaker about arms control. His years of crossing social hierarchies led him to coin the term “rankism”: the systemic abuse of power inherent in social ranking, and its antidote: “Dignity for all.”

Bob is survived by his wife, Claire Sheridan; children Karen, Ben, Noah, and Adam; and four grandchildren.

Graduate alumni memorials are prepared by the APGA.