Robert Hopper, Charles Sapp Centennial Professor
of Communication in the Department of Speech Communication, died
December 11, 1998. He was born on November 2, 1945. Professor Hopper
received his BA degree from Bowling Green State University in 1966,
graduating magna cum laude in history. The following year he completed
an MA degree from the same institution, and in 1970 he was awarded
the PhD in speech communication by the University of Wisconsin,
Madison. That same year, he joined the speech communication faculty
at The University of Texas at Austin, where he taught for twenty-eight
years.
One of the University's most distinguished teachers, Professor Hopper supervised
to completion ten MA theses and thirty-two PhD dissertations, including
the first digital dissertation accepted in the United States. In 1988,
he organized the Language, Culture, and Social Interaction Division in
the Department of Speech Communication, and from 1992 to 1995 he supervised
the department's Instructional Media Center, developing it into an important
research facility for undergraduate and graduate students. His teaching
awards include the Department of Speech Communication Graduate Students'
Award in 1982, the College of Communication's Thomas R. McCartin Award
for Teaching Excellence, the University's Award for Distinguished Graduate
Teaching in 1990, and the International Communication Association's Aubrey
Fisher Mentorship Award in 1994. He was the first winner of the National
Communication Association's Mentorship Award in 1998.
A noted scholar, Professor Hopper developed an international reputation
for his work in conversational analysis, gender and language, speech practices
in various cultures, speech acquisition, and communication and law enforcement.
He published nine books, over sixty essays, and 100 other papers. He served
as associate editor of
Text, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Research on
Language and Social Psychology,
Text and Performance Quarterly,
Southern
Communication Journal, and
Communication Quarterly, and as guest
editor for a special issue of
Text and Performance Quarterly on
conversation and performance. His long-term interest in the aesthetics
of conversation resulted in a number of creative projects, including four
stage productions based on everyday conversation. He was frequently invited
to deliver public lectures on other campuses, including the University
of Indiana, University of Oklahoma, Annenberg School of Communication,
San Diego State University, University of California at Davis, Sheffield
University, and Wolfson College, Oxford. Among the awards he received for
his scholarship were the Scholarly Publication Award of the National Communication
Association's Language and Social Interaction Division, and the Outstanding
Scholar Award of the International Communication Association's Language
and Social Action Division. He has been listed in Who's Who in America
since 1980.
Professor Hopper served both The University of Texas and his discipline
at the local, regional, national, and international levels. He was a member
of five College of Communication committees, including a ten-year term
on the Academic Excellence Committee. He also served on six University
committees, including the University Research Institute Proposal-Evaluation
Committee and the University Committee for Selecting Graduate Fellowships.
In 1977 he served as acting chair of the Department of Speech Communication.
In addition to his membership in Western States Communication Association,
Southern States Communication Association, and the International Pragmatics
Association, Professor Hopper was a life member of the National Communication
Association and the International Communication Association. In both organizations
he was instrumental in establishing divisions of Language, Culture, and
Social Interaction, serving as the first chair of that division for the
National Communication Association. In 1991, he was nominated for the presidency
of the International Communication Association.
The Department of Communication Studies has received approval from the
University to name CMA A5.114B the Robert W. Hopper Language and Social
Interaction Laboratory.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting
of Professors Paul H. Gray (chair), Roderick P. Hart, and Larry D. Browning.
Distributed to the Dean of the College of Communication,
the Executive Vice President and Provost, and the President on
December 17, 1999. Copies are available on request from the Office
of the General Faculty, FAC 22, F9500. This resolution is posted
under "Memorials" at:
http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/ .
