Rob Penny - Academic Life

Academic Life

Penny was in the first cohort of faculty hired in 1969 by Jack Daniel, vice provost for Academic Affairs and dean of students at the University of Pittsburgh. After Penny had begun teaching at the University of Pittsburgh as an Associate Professor in 1969 he then moved on to serve as chair of its Africana Studies Department from 1978–1984. Penny was also a founding member of the Africana Studies Department, now known as the Black Studies Department.

"In terms of his professionalism, he was as close as someone can get to being an unrecognized genius. He appeared to be a simple man, but was actually quite complex," Daniel said. "As a person, with his theatrical influence, he was genuinely in touch with the human side of all of us. He was thought-provoking, forever challenging, dedicated, sincere and warm, with a kind of stick-to-itiveness -- someone who always kept his eye on the prize."

Dennis Brutus describes his former colleague "as a person who inspired his students. He was always encouraging and helpful. As a poet myself, I can say he also was a fine poet, in the black poetic tradition, who inspired others to write, especially through the Kuntu Writers Workshop. And he was a man who was an inspiration to young people in terms of his activism and community activities."