Frumkin, Robert Martin 1928–

(Robert M. Frumkin)

PERSONAL: Born March 20, 1928, in Newark, NJ; son of Solomon (an electrician) and Anna (a home-maker; maiden name, Gruber) Frumkin; married Miriam Zisenwine, 1950 (divorced, 1964); married Beverly Crouch Babcock, 1964 (divorced, 1966); married Grace Butcher, 1970 (divorced, 1973); companion of Helen Samberg (a social worker and social activist); children: (first marriage) Judith. Education: Upsala College, B.A., 1948; New School for Social Research, graduate study, 1948–49; Ohio State University, M.A., 1951, Ph.D., 1961; postdoctoral study at Syracuse University, 1963–64, Case Western Reserve University, 1967–68, and Kent State University, 1969–72. Politics: Democratic Socialists of America. Hobbies and other interests: Drawing, painting, playing the piano, tennis, table tennis, hiking, rowing, ice skating, and other forms of outdoor recreation.

ADDRESSES: Home—920 Pleasant Dr., Ypsilanti, MI 48197. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Ohio State Department of Mental Hygiene and Correction, Columbus, social research analyst, 1952–54; State University of New York College for Teachers at Buffalo (now State University of New York at Buffalo), Buffalo, instructor in sociology and psychology, 1954–57; State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, 1957–63, began as assistant profes-sor, became associate professor of sociology and anthropology; Benjamin Rose Institute, Cleveland, OH, research associate in gerontology, 1964–65; Community Action for Youth, Cleveland, director of research, 1965–66; Cleveland Society for the Blind, Cleveland, director of research, 1966–67; Kent State University, Kent, OH, associate professor of rehabilitation counseling, 1967–75; Beacon Hill Clinic, South-field, MI, psychotherapist, 1976; Northville State Hospital, Northville, MI, chief psychologist, 1976–77; Shaw College, Detroit, MI, associate professor of psychology, sociology, and cultural anthropology, 1977–81; Jewish Horizon (weekly newspaper), Union, NJ, assistant editor, 1982–83; Research Experts, Inc., Irvington, NJ, research consultant, 1984–87; Eastern Panhandle Mental Health Center, Martinsburg, WV, staff psychologist, 1987–88; Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, WV, research associate, 1989–90; Salem-Teikyo University, Salem, WV, associate professor of sociology and psychology, 1990–96; Hutson Center, Findlay, OH, staff psychologist, 1996–97. Cuyahoga Community College, lecturer, 1965; Cleveland Psychiatric Institute, research consultant, 1966; licensed psychologist, State of Ohio, 1974–76; certified rehabilitation counselor, 1974–78. Military service: U.S. Navy, Hospital Corps, 1946–47.

MEMBER: American Sociological Association (fellow), American Association for the Advancement of Science (fellow), Society for the Scientific Study of Sex (fellow), American Psychological Association, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, American Civil Liberties Union, Union of Concerned Scientists, National Organization for Woman, Planned Parenthood, Peace Action, Michigan Coalition for Human Rights.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fellowships from Ericsson Society of New York, 1945–46, and State University of New York Research Foundation, 1963; research grants from National Institutes of Mental Health, 1965–66, and Cleveland Foundation, 1966; first prize for nonfiction writing, Sigma Tau Delta literary competition, 1965.

WRITINGS:

The Patient as a Human Being, University of Buffalo Bookstore (Buffalo, NY), 1956.

Freedom to Love, Paine Press, 1956.

Hospital Nursing: A Sociological Interpretation, University of Buffalo Bookstore (Buffalo, NY), 1956.

The Nurse as a Human Being, University of Buffalo Bookstore (Buffalo, NY), 1956.

Social Problems, Pathology and Philosophy: Selected Essays and Studies, Frontiers Press, 1962.

Kangaroo Court (play), 1974.

The Kent State Coverup, two volumes, Frontiers Press, 1980.

Shorter works include "The Measurement of Marriage Adjustment," Public Affairs Press (Washington, DC), 1954. Contributor to books, including The Heritage of American Education, edited by R.E. Gross, Allyn & Bacon (Lanham, MD), 1962; The Unusual Child, edited by Roucek, Philosophical Library, 1965; Life in Families, edited by H.M. Hughes, Allyn & Bacon (Lanham, MD), 1970; New Developments in Modern World Sociology, edited by D. Martindale and R. Mohan, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1975; and Racial and Ethnic Relations in America, edited by R. Wildin, Salem Press, 2000. Contributor of more than 250 articles and reviews to journals, including American Psychologist, Huron River Review, Ohio State Medical Journal, Journal of Educational Research, Nursing Outlook, Sexology, and Sociology and Social Research. Zedek, associate editor, 1980–82, editor, 1982–; abstractor, Psychological Abstracts, 1954–63; editor of the literary magazines Heritage, 1949–51, and Ethos, 1955–58; research editor, Journal of Human Relations, 1958–70.

SIDELIGHTS: Robert Martin Frumkin once told CA: "From the very beginning my motivation to write has been prompted by a desire to express what I think about significant, often controversial, issues which have caught my attention and interest. My first writing prize was for an essay on world peace and brotherhood in a statewide competition in New Jersey. I was fifteen at the time.

"A genuine interest and delight in writing—all kinds of writing—was fired in me by a gifted freshman English teacher, Leon Ormond, at Arts High School in Newark, NJ.

"I have been influenced by a number of writers, including Francis Bacon, Thomas Paine, Jessica Mitford, Howard Zinn, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Henrik Ibsen, Moliere, Margaret Mead, Ashley Montagu, C. Wright Mills, George Orwell, Emil Zola, Voltaire, Saul Alinsky, Karl Pearson, Albert Ellis, Rachel Carson, and Helen Caldicott. What I admire in almost all of these writers is the power and relative simplicity with which they communicate vital issues to their readers.

"While there are legitimately many possible purposes to writing, for me, writing is a way of educating, informing, getting people to think and act upon crucial issues of our times. In this period of our world's history, it is the responsibility of serious writers to be involved, at least to some degree, in helping to save life on earth from total destruction. While it is important for all people to relax and enjoy life, it is also important that the survival of life on this earth be among the writer's primary commitments. If all life on earth is destroyed, then there will be neither writers to write nor readers to read. I spend much of my time working for world peace and nuclear disarmament, saving the environment, population control, and eliminating poverty. We must do something to save our fragile planet."