Dr. Marguerite M. Roberts
Dean, Westhampton College 1947-1965
Professor of English, 1947-1974; Professor of English, Emerita, 1975-1988
Dr. Marguerite M. Roberts took office as the second Dean of Westhampton College on August 1, 1947. She had a concurrent appointment as a professor of English. Before coming to Richmond, she was dean of women and assistant professor of English at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario from 1937 to 1946. She was a lecturer in English at the University of Toronto from 1946–1947. While there she was the only female member of the English department.
She received her bachelor of arts from Evansville College in Indiana and her master of arts and Ph.D. from Radcliffe College. Her thesis was titled “Hardy and the Theater.” She did post-graduate work at the University of Chicago and Cambridge University. Her scholarly interest was in the life and literary works of the English poet and novelist Thomas Hardy. She once took a trip to England, where she was received by the poet’s widow and was permitted to read his personal letters and papers. In the summer of 1961, she took a sabbatical leave to work as a research fellow at Radcliffe.
In an October 1947 Collegian article, it is reported that “In 1929 she had her first introduction to flying, which in those days was no small matter. “ The article also reported that she was a tennis enthusiast and greatly enjoyed the theater.
Roberts was a Virginia Cultural Laureate and a former board member of the Virginia Writers group. She held memberships in many educational societies: Phi Beta Kappa, American Association of University Professors, Modern Language Association, and the Canadian Authors. She was a member of the Dean’s Association, and for five years was associate editor of the Journal of the American Association of Deans.
In 1950 she published Tess in the Theatre. An article in the Collegian dated September 22, 1950, quotes Carl J. Weber, Professor of English at Colby College and a noted authority on Hardy, saying, “students of stage history of Victorian literature…. will be grateful to Dean Roberts for the skill, the diligence, and the success with which she has ferreted out elusive information, and for the lucid and attractive way in which she has presented it to the reader.” She also published Hardy’s Poetic Drama and the Theatre.
During her time as Dean, Westhampton College grew in size of the student body, faculty, and administration while retaining its strong academic focus and values. In her book, A Gem of a College, Claire Rosenbaum tells us that “During her tenure Dean Roberts developed procedures for the admission of well-qualified students, worked diligently for continuing improvement of instruction, stressed higher standards of scholarship, and encouraged graduate study among Westhampton women.”
On April 15, 1993, Dr. Roberts was added to the University of Richmond Trustees' Honor Roll of Distinguished Faculty, Administrators and Staff. On that occasion, Dr. Fred Anderson of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society had the following words:
In the beginning was Dean May Keller... but someone had to follow, and President Modlin journeyed to cold Canada to find a replacement. There he found Marguerite Roberts, who had taught English and had experience as a dean of women. When she saw the dogwoods and the Gothic architecture she was hooked. Dean Roberts continued the distinctive traditions of Westhampton and subtly added her own influence. She personified graciousness and many a Westhampton woman learned about charm, etiquette, and English literature around a roaring fire in her quarters and while sipping tea from a china cup. Dean Roberts had studied at Cambridge and her charm won her entry into the homeand heart of Thomas Hardy's widow. She returned with suitcases loaded with enough material to embellish her doctoral dissertation, and Miss Roberts became a recognized authority on Hardy. Today her research papers--boxes of them--are in the Boatwright Library where Roberts can still give of herself.