After speaking with colleagues, friends and students, it is clear that there is nothing but respect, affection and admiration for Professor Bob Simon, the Walcott-Bartlett Professor Emeritus of Philosophy.
Coming to the Hill in 1968, Simon has been a teacher, mentor, friend and coach for countless individuals at Hamilton.
As an esteemed member of the Hamilton community, it comes as no surprise that they have rallied around Bob and his wife Joy during their time of need. After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Hamilton professors, colleagues and students have shown an outpouring of support for Professor Simon and his family.
“The support has been overwhelming from all areas of the community including faculty, the members of my department, coaches, students, staff and Physical Plant, alumni and athletic teams, especially the teams I have worked most closely with, coaching Hamilton golf and advising women’s basketball,” said Simon.
Not only a highly respected professor and coach, Simon is beloved by faculty and students alike. “Bob has been a constant source of humor, intelligence and integrity. You can feel it when he is in the building or on the field!” said Professor Katheryn Doran. “Good energy always follows in his wake,” stated Doran who has worked with Simon for over 25 years.
Professor Simon’s impact on the academic and athletic arena at Hamilton has been unparalleled. “Bob is such a special person inside and out! Since my arrival five years ago, he has been nothing but selfless and supportive to our basketball program,” said women’s basketball coach Michelle Collins, regarding working alongside Simon.
Simon led his team to NESCAC championship titles in 1990 and 1998, as well as to the only NCAA Division III Championships ever in Hamilton history in 1999.The Hamilton athletic community continues to pull for Simon. During the Spring, in preparation for treatment, players from Collins’s team helped Simon get stronger by walking laps with him every day, sending inspirational texts and emails and helping out with the occasional meal.
Players also bought Simon a bear from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company that was dressed in a basketball jersey with his name on the back.
Players returned the support Simon had shown for countless years as coach and advisor for the team. “Whenever a player needs anything, whether advice or to assist with schedule conflicts, he is there for them. I can’t even begin to scratch the surface on how vital Bob has been to our program and the Hamilton community as a whole” said Collins.
Professor Russell Marcus described Simon as the “core of the department, an internationally respected scholar, productive and hard working, a smart, sharp and insightful thinker, who is able to see the outlines and structure of any argument in any area of philosophy with ease and wit, and one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. And he does it all with half an eye on his golf swing”.
From coaching Little League together, teaching team philosophy courses and playing basketball and baseball together, Professor Rick Werner described Simon as “ one of the kindest, most dedicated and sincere academics I know. His work ethic is as legendary as his love for sports.”
Simon’s work ethic is clearly exemplified in the numerous accolades he received for his academic work, such as the Marjorie and Robert W. McEwen Professorship of Philosophy, the Sidney Wertimer Professorship, the William R. Kenan Professorship and a Rockefeller Foundation Humanities Fellowship.
Throughout the philosophy department, Simon is well known for his kindness, intelligence and love of golf and science fiction movies.
Professor Marianne Janack recalled first joining the Philosophy department, “when I got the job here at Hamilton, I told a friend of mine, who had worked in the admission office in the 1980s. She said, ‘Oh, you’ll get to be in a department with Bob Simon! I think he’s one of the most beloved people at Hamilton.’ And that, I learned, is true.”
