A “towering personality” who could cut to the heart of any debate like a hot knife through butter, Robert P. Newman was an educator, scholar and award-winning author who taught rhetoric and debate for more than three decades at the University of Pittsburgh.
The 96-year-old died April 17 at his Portland, Ore., home after a long battle with dementia.
Though he was a formidable arguer who was known for his rapier wit, Mr. Newman prided himself on the fact that he never made a student cry, said his partner of 14 years, Mary Bywater Cross, 76.
“He used to say, ‘I didn’t need to put anybody down to pull myself up,’” Ms. Bywater Cross said.
Born in Hannibal, Mo., Mr. Newman spent much of his youth working as a tour guide in the Mark Twain Cave and learning about the famous American writer from his hometown.
“He was a huge fan of Mark Twain,” said Ms. Bywater Cross, who plans to spread Mr. Newman’s ashes in his hometown. “If he had known that he could have made a living as a Mark Twain scholar, he would have done that.”
Mr. Newman earned a bachelor’s degree in speech from the University of Redlands in California in 1942, before serving in the Army during World War II. He was awarded the Bronze Star for valor. Later, Mr. Newman used his experience as a soldier in the European Theater to inform his opinion about the war and the politics surrounding it.
While he was waiting for space on a transport ship home, Mr. Newman and other soldiers were offered the opportunity to study for one term at local universities in England.
He enrolled at Corpus Christi College at Oxford University, where he found camaraderie among his fellow scholars, Ms. Bywater Cross said. He stayed for nine terms and left with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in politics, philosophy and economics.
“He fell in love with Oxford and did many, many things there,” she said. “He took much of what he learned at Oxford and applied it at Pitt.”
After returning to the U.S., Mr. Newman earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of Connecticut in 1952. He was recruited by Pitt before the completion of his dissertation, and served as a faculty member from 1952 to 1984, mostly teaching graduate students in the Department of Communication.
Mr. Newman headed the William Pitt Debating Union from 1952 to 1966, and the guidelines he established are still followed by the team. According to the university’s website, Mr. Newman developed an extension program that brought intercollegiate debate teams together for public debates at local high schools.
He also helped organize “Campus on Call,” a television show on WQED that partnered Pitt students with government officials for public debates and conversations.
Marilyn Young met Mr. Newman in 1965, when she was a teacher in Florida.
“He was teaching at a high school debate workshop at Georgetown University,” said Ms. Young, who said Mr. Newman and several of his colleagues persuaded her to seek a graduate degree at Pitt.
She enrolled the following year and served as an assistant coach of the debate team and as a graduate assistant with Mr. Newman.
“He was amazing,” said Ms. Young, now a retired communications professor from Florida State University. “Graduate students were really drawn to him and found him to be a tremendous influence. It’s quite a legacy that he left.”
After his tenure at Pitt, Mr. Newman focused on research, hosted various seminars and taught at the University of Iowa from 1995 to 2003.
In his career, Mr. Newman published more than 70 scholarly articles and several books. Many of his works focused on the Cold War and World War II, including “Owen Lattimore and the ‘Loss’ of China,” his 1992 book that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award.
Mr. Newman retired in Iowa City, where he met Ms. Bywater Cross in 2002.
"He is the only man who ever left the Oaknoll Retirement Center for romantic reasons,” said Ms. Bywater Cross, who persuaded Mr. Newman to relocate to Portland with her. The two had a commitment ceremony in August 2004.
Mr. Newman also stayed in touch with colleagues and former students, including Ms. Young, who visited him often.
During the last year of his life, seven former students came to give their respects.
“I was just really glad we were able to do that,” Ms. Young said of a visit last year. “He was my mentor and I will miss his counsel. He was just such a towering personality. He had such an effect on everyone who was in his class or got to know him well.”
Mr. Newman is survived by a daughter, Jennifer Newman, and a son, Carl Newman, both of Syracuse, N.Y., and three granddaughters.
Donations in his honor can be made to three scholarship funds: University of Pittsburgh Debate Program Robert P. Newman Fund; Truman State University Robert P. Newman Debate Scholarship Fund; and the University of Iowa College of Education: Robert P. Newman and Mary Bywater Cross Research Fund.
Janice Crompton: jcrompton@post-gazette.com.
First Published: May 30, 2018, 11:45 a.m.