Arthur N. Collins, Ph.D., B.A.’48

New York State College for Teachers alumnus and Professor Emeritus of English Arthur N. Collins, who maintained a close connection with the college and its successor, the University at Albany, for more than 60 years, passed away Dec. 2, 2011, in Lenox, Mass. He was 87.

n UAlbany magazine’s Spring 2010 issue (“The Last Word,” page 48), Collins recalled enrolling at NYSCT in 1941 as “a naïve 16-year-old farm boy.” After serving with the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, he returned to State, graduating in 1948 “with honors as a cultivated citizen.” Collins completed master’s and doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota.

He went back to State in 1951 to teach for one year – and remained for 33 more. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate students, Collins served on the Faculty Council, the University Senate, and numerous other committees, as well as five consecutive terms on the Alumni Association board. The recipient of both the Class of 1952 Excellence in Teaching Award and the Distinguished Service Award, he was designated a Collins Fellow – an honor named for University at Albany President Evan R. Collins – in 1985.

Collins established three Charitable Gift Annuities at UAlbany to endow a fellowship in his name and that of his first wife, Marion B. Collins. The endowment will support a first-year graduate student in the humanities.

Survivors include four children, two stepchildren, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Gifts in Arthur Collins’ memory, payable to The University at Albany Foundation, may be mailed to the Foundation office at 1400 Washington Ave., UAB 226, Albany, NY 12222.