image courtesy Philadelphia Inquirer
Former SCT Professor John B. Roberts passed away March 8, 2012. He was 94.
A Temple professor from 1946 to 1988, Professor Roberts helped to found WRTI-FM in 1953.
Born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., he was the son of the late John & Evelyn (Buckley) Roberts. Professor Roberts was a Navy veteran, having worked as a Navy broadcaster during World War II.
He was the founder of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1996 and named him Person of the Year in 1987.
Throughout his teaching career, Professor Roberts inspired countless students to pursue careers in communications and is one of the reasons SCT has found such success. Hear from a few people who benefited from knowing him:
Jaclyn Adler, RTF ’73. “You gave so much to so many, and as for me, I carry and apply the knowledge you shared each day.”
Paul Gluck, JOUR ’76, BTMM associate professor. “John Roberts set a near perfect example for those of us who were practicing journalists and then entered the academic world. He was an erudite and urbane presence here at Temple SCT, who offered insight and reassurance to students as an educator and served as an aspirational model for media professionals.”
Len Guercio, RTF ’83, SCT film lab coordinator. “I enrolled in his RTF 101 Communications Theory class and fell under his tutorial thrall. John Roberts was the consummate communications professional and professor. His classes were very well-organized, the information he imparted was systematized into logical, digestible components, and his radio and TV war stories—while sometimes seemingly tangential to the matter being discussed—always ultimately underscored the main points of the day’s lesson.”
William Johnson, WRTI station manager. “It’s doubtful he could have ever foreseen the 14-station network that now broadcasts in high-definition, serving hundreds of thousands of listeners each week in the Greater Philadelphia region. What he did see, though, was the need for students to have a practical application for the theory they were learning in the classroom, and the power of radio to reach and serve people in a way no other medium could achieve. Generations and thousands of students later, WRTI continues Roberts’ legacy of service to our community and excellence in broadcasting in what is now the age of digital media.”
Jim McCraw, JOUR ’66. “Professor Roberts tried to convince me to switch from print to radio, but I didn’t listen. Shame on me. A great guy who lived a long and wonderful life teaching kids like me.”
Dan Taylor, RTF ’79. “[He was] a top-notch professor. [I] learned a lot from him not only about the business, but how to be a professional.”