faculty

Myra E. Moss Rolle received her B.A. from Pomona College in 1958 and her Ph.D. in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University in 1965. From 1958 to 1959, Myra was enrolled in the graduate program in philosophy at the University of Rome. She began teaching as a junior instructor at Johns Hopkins in 1960 and won a fellowship as a Gilman Scholar the next year. From 1966 to 1968, she was an assistant professor at San Jose State College. In September 1968, Myra lectured part-time at SCU. She became a tenured assistant professor there in 1970. From 1975-82, she taught as an associate professor at Claremont Men’s College (the precursor to CMC). During the course of her career, she contributed scholarly monographs and articles to many publications and authored several books, including Benedetto Croce Reconsidered in 1987 and Mussolini’s Fascist Philosopher: Giovanni Gentile Reconsidered in 2004. In addition to her work in academia (she was the recipient of a Plato Award for iconic educators), Myra was an outstanding equestrian in her youth, winning many championship trophies and other awards throughout the years. She also enjoyed gardening and raising orchids and was a fervent animal lover, particularly cats. She died on July 26, 2016, in San Marino. She was 79. Myra is survived by her husband of 32 years, Andrew F. Rolle, Robert Glass Cleland Professor of American History, Emeritus (1952-1988) at Occidental College in Los Angeles, a brother, George “Buddy” Moss, and several nieces and nephews. Myra met her husband after auditing a class of his at Occidental College. Jeff Record ’76 remembers philosophy classes being “mesmerizing to so many, so much so that after only one quarter with ‘Milburn’ I immediately declared it as my major.”

02 Jul 2019