In Memoriam: Robert Straight

Article by UDaily staff March 18, 2025

Campus community remembers professor emeritus of art and design

Robert Straight, professor emeritus of art and design who taught at the University of Delaware for more than 35 years, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Feb. 3, 2025. He was 78.

Robert Straight

Professor Straight joined the Delaware faculty in 1970 and taught various courses in painting. He coordinated the department’s graduate program and was graduate adviser. He also served as acting chair of the department in 1980. He retired in 2017.

His paintings—informed by investigations of science and math—have been exhibited throughout the United States at museums including the Delaware Art Museum, Susquehanna Art Museum, Detroit Institute of Art, Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum and the National Academy of Sciences and at galleries in New York City. His work also is in numerous corporate and private collections, including AmericanExpress, Capital One, ITT, Princess Cruises and the Delaware Art Museum..

In a 2016 article in The Review, UD’s student newspaper, Professor Straight said his favorite part of teaching was seeing his students’ different responses to assignments and projects. “The whole time I have been teaching, I have been learning,” he said.

Robyn Phillips-Pendleton, professor of visual communication, said, “"I knew Bob Straight for almost 29 years. He was a rare and exceptional mix of class, style, collegiality and not to mention talent. He moved through our department and life this way, radiating this unique blend to his students. Every encounter I had with Bob was special and came with a warm smile. Knowing him was a joy."

Born in Halstead, Kansas, he spent his childhood in Amarillo, Texas, before moving to southern California, where he received his bachelor’s degree in art at California State University–Long Beach. He earned his MFA at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.

Before joining the Delaweare faculty, he taught at Spelman College for a year, and then taught for seven years at Connecticut College.

He is survived by his wife, Christine Schoepe Straight; his daughters, Alexandra Straight, her husband, Omar Yunis, and their daughters Estella and Willa; Oona Campanelli, her husband, Bryan Campanelli, and their daughters Romanita, Bianca and Simone; and other relatives.

To read his complete obituary or leave online condolences, visit Doherty Funeral Homes Inc.