By Chris Cunningham
and Sana Cole
The Scene staff
Forest Park is mourning the loss of adjunct psychology instructor Rodney Robinson, who died of complications from a kidney transplant this semester.
“He was very kind and had a big heart,” said Don Cusumano, chairman of the social sciences department. “He was a very caring person and always had a smile on his face.”
Robinson joined the Forest Park staff 20 years ago. He taught classes such as general psychology, child psychology, human growth and development and abnormal psychology.
Cusumano particularly appreciated his flexibility.
“He would even do a split schedule, (teaching) mornings and evenings,” he said.
Robinson couldn’t work this semester because of his hospitalization.
Education major Peter Taylor, 50, took his child psychology class in the fall of 2012. They developed a close relationship.
“I found that we had kindred spirits,” Taylor said. “We were both black males, we had both been in the military and we were both from the city. I considered him a friend. I hope he felt the same way about me.”
After Taylor learned Robinson was sick, he would stop by the psychology department to check on him. The last time was two weeks before he died October 31.
“When I heard the news, it hit me hard,” Taylor said.
Robinson is survived by his wife, LaTanya Punseall-Robinson , two sisters, six children and 11 grandchildren.
Sister Laverne Robinson, 61, described him as a role model to his extended family.
“He was more than an uncle to my children,” she said. “He was more like a grandfather to my children.
“He supported (his nieces and nephews) emotionally. Whatever they needed, they knew they could call their uncle.”
Robinson grew up on Minerva Avenue in St. Louis. He was a bit of a “trouble-maker” in his youth, his sister said, he also was academically inclined.
“My brother would say he was from the hood,” she said. “He definitely could have taken a role that wasn’t good for him, and that could have gotten him into some of the things that black males get themselves into.
“He never lost sight of his goals to achieve, though. He had the ability to walk both sides.”
Robinson’s father died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma when he was 11, forcing him to become the male figure in the house.
He enrolled at Lincoln University in Jefferson City in 1965, but dropped out two years later and began working for General Motors. He was drafted into the Army in 1968.
“The Vietnam War had an impact on him,” his sister said. “He ended up having some illnesses from being a veteran.”
Robinson went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Webster University and a master’s in clinical psychology from Washington University in the 1970s.
“He could have made a career working for General Motors, but it was clear that was not going to work for him,” his sister said. “He would have made good money, but he wanted his education.”
After graduation, Robinson worked as program director with the Psychiatry and Substance Abuse Program at Central Medical Center, a counselor for St. Louis public schools and a consultant for Headstart. He also founded T&R Medical and Psychological Services with his wife.
Robinson donated his body to science. Friends and family gathered for a memorial service at the Washington Metropolitan and a celebration of his life at the Metropolitan Village this month.