Summary
Robert Gorrell influenced thousands of students at the University of Nevada, Reno and across the country with the publication of the Modern English Handbook. Penned with Department of English colleague Charlton Laird, the Modern English Handbook was one of the most successful texts of its kind. Gorrell's career at the University began in 1945. Over the next 35 years, he was an English professor, department chairperson in English, dean of the College of Arts and Science and vice president for academic affairs. Growing up in Indiana, he had been a newspaper writer and printer. Early in his career he was a Fulbright lecturer at universities in Sydney and Helsinki. From 1982-1995, he published a weekly column on English usage in the Reno Gazette-Journal, and in 2000 at the age of 86, he published his first novel, Murder the Rose. His honors include National Council of Teachers of English Distinguished Lecturer; Nevada Humanities Committee Distinguished Scholar and Humanist; and the University of Nevada Distinguished Faculty Award.