In Memoriam: Emeritus Professor of English Nelvin Vos
Vos, who also served as vice president and dean of the College from 1987-1993, died on March 19. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 13, at 10 a.m. in Egner Memorial Chapel.Monday, April 8, 2024 09:33 AM
Nelvin Vos pictured in the 1979 and 1999 Ciarla yearbooksNelvin Vos, an emeritus professor of English who joined Muhlenberg in 1965 and retired in 2000, died on March 19. As head of the English department (1976-1987), he was instrumental in the creation of a standalone Theatre Program at Muhlenberg. As vice president and dean of the College (1987-1993), he led the faculty through a major curriculum revision and organized a group that served as a precursor to today’s Muhlenberg Center for Teaching and Learning.
“Nelvin was deeply committed not only to his academic department but to the institution,” says President Kathleen Harring. “He effected institutional change that made the student experience better, that provided more support for faculty and that strengthened Muhlenberg’s reputation as a place for innovative, engaged teaching and learning.”
Vos, a graduate of Calvin College who earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, was a scholar of dramatic literature. He made the material come alive for students, sometimes literally. He led student trips to London to see stage productions during breaks before global education was well established at the College. Former students remember his engaging teaching style, his dedication to his work and his openness to a diversity of ideas and perspectives. Some consider him among the best teachers they ever had.
Vos was a major supporter of the creation of Muhlenberg’s Theatre Program, which had historically been part of the English department. In 1978, he hired Charles Richter, now emeritus professor of theatre, who would go on to be the founding director of the program. He felt the arts were a crucial part of a liberal arts education. As vice president and dean of the College, he continued to support the program’s growth as it added faculty and built up its facilities.
Vos approached leadership as a way to be of service and was known as a highly collaborative, level-headed leader who was good at listening and navigating differences of opinion. He worked to build a sense of community among his colleagues and among his students. Former colleagues and former students remember him as a humble, warm man of great faith and integrity.
“The thing that really set him apart as an educator was the sense of the wider mission of what we were doing as educators as far as trying to get students to understand they had a responsibility to others in the world,” Richter says. “Students always raved about his teaching, how exciting he was, how he made dramatic literature come alive for them. That was really a great gift he had. He modeled what a teacher should be in a liberal arts context. He was a really good leader but also a superb teacher.”
Vos is survived by his wife of 65 years, Beverly, three children (Christine, Alicia and David) and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 13, at 10 a.m. in Egner Memorial Chapel, followed by refreshments in Moyer Hall’s Miller Forum. For more information, find his published obituary here.
