Our dear classmate and trailblazing reporter Robin died Feb. 1, 2022, succumbing to ovarian cancer. 

Enrolling at Princeton in 1969 at the dawn of coeducation, Robin set her path early, switching from pre-med to literature and joining The Daily Princetonian, where she became the first female managing editor. In those early days, the Prince did not assign her a sports beat, like every other staffer. She insisted on equal treatment and picked rugby from among the remaining sports, setting the stage for her career. Robin was a devoted member (and social chair) of Tower and a co-creator of the Class of  ’73 “Co-Education Begins” P-rade banner. 

Robin’s long-term goal — to earn a byline in The New York Times — was met within weeks of graduation. Her feature on animal surgery made Page 1 (the patient was a racehorse named Sham, Secretariat’s understudy). As a hockey reporter for the The Times in 1975, Robin made history as one of the first two female journalists ever to enter a professional sports locker room. “Girl in the Locker Room” became a Jeopardy! answer and the name of her blog. 

After leaving The Times, Robin and her husband, Paul Horvitz, moved to Paris in 1987. She wrote about health for The Washington Post and started a family. Daughter Eva and son Zach survive her. 

In 1999 they returned to the United States and Robin created the position of assistant dean for communications at the Harvard School of Public Health, where she also taught health communications. 

Retiring in 2012, she became a visual artist. Robin and Paul traveled widely in pursuit of that muse. They celebrated 40 years of marriage in August 2021 and her 70th birthday in November 2021. The Class of 1973 offers its condolences to Robin’s family and friends.

Undergraduate Class of 1973