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Robert M. Arkin, Ph.D. was Professor of Psychology in the Social Psychology program at Ohio State from 1988-2016. Bob was born in Los Angeles on August 12, 1950. After graduating from UCLA he received his Ph.D. in 1976 from the University of Southern California. Bob was an Assistant Professor (1976-1980), Associate Professor (1980-1984) and Full Professor (1984-1988) of Psychology at the University of Missouri and held the Middlebush Chair in Psychology. He moved to Ohio State in 1988 as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, also serving as Dean of Undergraduate Studies (1992-1996) before assuming a full-time faculty role in the Psychology Department.

Bob served as Associate Editor of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (1985-1988) and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1991-1995) and Editor of the journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology (2003-2009). He also served on the editorial boards of eleven different journals. He edited the volumes "Most Underappreciated: Fifty eminent social psychologists..." published by Oxford University Press, the Handbook of the Uncertain Self (with co-editors Kathy Oleson and Patrick Carroll) published by Psychology Press, and a revision of the textbook The Self, for Psychology Press. His research centered on the self in social interaction, with a special emphasis on the uncertain self. Over his lifetime he studied attribution processes and general issues of motivation, achievement, social perception, self-doubt, self-handicapping and overachievement, and personal security and insecurity in the post-9/11 era.

Bob was highly regarded for his scholarly work and especially for his passion for teaching both graduate and undergraduate students. Bob proposed and designed the department’s teaching seminar and practicum for graduate instructors in 1999, and those activities became the foundation of a nationally-recognized program for graduate training in pedagogy. Bob was instrumental in the development of second-level writing courses in General Education in his role as Undergraduate Dean, and was the faculty supervisor and teaching mentor for graduate instructors teaching the second-level writing course in Psychology for twelve years. He developed and managed the department’s original teaching certificate program from its inception in 2000.

Bob was a tremendous advocate for education at all levels, regularly serving on the department’s Undergraduate Studies Committee and frequently teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in social psychology. In addition to coordinating the Introduction to Social Psychology course, he designed and taught advanced courses in The Self and Personal Security. Bob was a dedicated research mentor to countless undergraduate students in his social psychology research laboratory in addition to his graduate mentees and post-doctoral collaborators. Bob proudly served as a member of the Board of Education in his community (Upper Arlington, Ohio) from 2001 to 2013. He served as President of the Board in 2010. He also combined his passion for education with his love of travel, including spending the summer of 2013 teaching psychology to local college students in Shanghai.

Bob had an infectious sense of humor and rarely could resist making a joke. He loved reading and following many diverse varieties of news. Baseball was a passion, as was blues music. He played blues guitar and collected guitars and other instruments, learning to play throughout his life. Most of all he loved sharing his interests with others, and cared deeply for his family - wife Carol and sons J.D., Jamie and Jordan. Bob passed away on December 12, 2016; he was 66. He leaves behind a rich and lasting legacy of friends, colleagues and students.