The late Dr. Rita K. Gollin’s legacy at SUNY Geneseo is as multifaceted as her career. Gollin, who passed away in 2022, was a literary scholar and professor when few women were faculty members in higher education. She was one of the nation’s leading scholars on the 19th-century writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, and she influenced generations of Geneseo scholars and students as a role model, mentor, and through her deep and abiding devotion to academic excellence.
The Dr. Rita K. Gollin Scholarship for Excellence in American Literature was endowed by Gollin and her husband, Richard Gollin, after she retired as a SUNY Distinguished Professor of English in 2002. With her family’s posthumous donation of her academic book collection to Fraser Library, Gollin’s legacy at the College is secured in perpetuity.
A graduate of Queens College, Gollin earned her PhD in American literature from the University of Minnesota, where she also met her husband when they were pursuing graduate studies there. Before coming to Geneseo in 1967, she taught at the University of Rochester, where her husband was on the English Department faculty.
Gollin completed her PhD while raising three children. Her daughter, Kathy Marshak, said her mother set an example for her and her two brothers to take their education seriously. Marshak and her husband recently made a large gift to the Gollin Scholarship.
“Education is key to my family of origin and my current family. My husband is a retired professor; my father and mother were retired professors,” said Marshak. “Scholarships are important. When my brother Michael died, we established a scholarship in his honor that everybody in the family contributed to. It’s the kind of philanthropy that fits our family.”
Professor of English Alice Rutkowski, who is also the English department chair, joined the College faculty when Gollin retired. Gollin’s work ethic, perseverance and refusal to be discouraged by sexism should inspire young women who want to pursue academic careers, she said.
“Women shouldn’t have to go through traumatic experiences to have long careers, but certainly the sexism that she was faced with motivated her,” said Rutkowski. “She became part of this vibrant intellectual community at Geneseo, and at every stage of her career, she was thinking about giving back.”
The Gollin Scholarship provides two awards each year to students who have demonstrated excellence in the study of American Literature. The first is given to a junior, announced in the spring, and awarded senior year. The second is given to a sophomore, announced in the spring, and awarded junior year.
“I was very happy to be accepted and recognized for my achievement,” said Gollin Scholar Hailey Bernet ’25 “It just feels nice to know that my hard work is recognized and it’s definitely going to help me get through the school year.”
Bernet admitted that she was unfamiliar with Gollin before she learned she was receiving the scholarship. She immediately researched and was impressed by what Gollin encouraged in her students and peers.
“It is very inspiring to see the influence she had on her students, as well as other scholars that she interacted with when it comes to the passion everyone had for American literature and pursuing it,” said Bernet.
Riley Weaver ’24, who majored in English literature, worked with the Library to organize Gollin’s collection.
“I feel like I got a very good grasp of how great she was in American literature, what that meant for Geneseo, and where our program is today,” said Weaver.
“Throughout my academic life, I have enjoyed teaching and doing research, and Geneseo has given me ample opportunities for both,” Gollin said in a statement when the scholarship fund was announced. “I hope receiving the Rita Gollin Scholarship furthers each winner’s ability to pursue, expand, and share scholarly interests, attainments, and enjoyments.”
