Frederick Roberts, retired associate professor in the politics and government department at Illinois State University, died peacefully Feb. 26, 2019, at age 81.

Born in 1937, Roberts graduated from Wilkes University and in 1961 earned master’s degree in politics from Princeton. He completed his dissertation for a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton in 1967. While working on his dissertation, he was an intern for the Brookings Institution doing research in city governance in New York City. From 1964 to 1968 Roberts was a full-time faculty member in the political science department at the University of Delaware, teaching introductory-level courses.

In the fall of 1968 he joined the politics and government department at Illinois State. He immediately developed a new course in collective decision-making, which he taught until retiring in 2000.

Roberts was the long-serving director of the internship program and directed the Model Illinois Government program. A former student felt “his central goal was to teach his pupils how to think, about everything from the dilemma of governance to the ethics of individual choices.”

Roberts was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Carlene. He is survived by two siblings and many nieces and nephews.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.