Ailsa Steinert, FACULTY

Those of us who worked with him in the early years remember Robin as a supportively demanding, witty, sometimes outrageous man who was deeply understanding of our school and our individual needs. We trusted him and gained much from his courage and insight.

A man of conviction and dedication; the beliefs that Robin lived by he ingrained in the school. He valued foresight, independence, concern for individuals, integrity and humor - values that exist here today. He asked us to challenge ourselves to the highest degree and inspired the creative energy and willingness to take risk that rising to the challenge involves.

A LEADER WHOSE VISION FUELED A GENERATION

Robin’s leadership respected the necessary and constructive tension that lies between tradition, institution, and the individual. Students, faculty, and staff were influenced and driven by his vision for the school and we stretched to meet the course he determined. As we strove to follow his prodigious work ethic, we grew aware of his sturdy support and understanding of our value to Pingree, reinforcing our own sense that we belonged here.

The school felt new then in its energy and sense of adventure, but grounded as it was in Robin’s experience in academic tradition, it never felt fledgling or uncertain. Of course there were risks, but, bolstered by his stubbornly held belief in both possibility and permanence, we were sure, as he was, that Pingree would thrive.

A MAN WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN

We learned much from his firm grasp of irony and understatement. His written comments to students and their families - as well as his conversations with faculty and staff - conveyed both his conviction that we were all worth more than we realized, and his encouragement to infer that we had a way to go to get there.

We were saddened when he left Pingree to return to St. George’s, and even more saddened now to lose his presence; and with it, the sense that we could always go to Rhode Island and run our thoughts by Robin, anticipating his best advice. Today, we recognize his presence infused through the school he started, and work to maintain our balance between what we must nourish in our hearts and minds, and what the world we live in calls for.

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