Robert Bocking Stevens (8 June 1933 – 30 January 2021) was a British lawyer and academic.

Life

Stevens was educated at

Oakham School (Like runners, they pass on the torch of life) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president ...

and then at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

, where he obtained his BA and BCL degrees. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1956 as a member of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. In 1958, he was awarded an LLM from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He then became a member of staff there, rising from assistant professor (1959–61) to associate professor (1961–65) and finally to professor (1965–76). He was then Provost of

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

from 1976 to 1978, when he became President of

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, leaving there in 1987 to become Chancellor of the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

. He left Santa Cruz in 1991, and in 1993 returned to England to take up office as Master of

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

. He was on the governing body of

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

from 1994 to 2001. He left the college in 2001, and was appointed an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

. Since 2001, he was a senior research fellow at the Constitution Unit of

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. His writings include ''The Restrictive Practices Court'' (1965), ''In Search of Justice'' (1968), ''Welfare Medicine in America'' (1974), ''The American Law School'' (1983) and ''The English Judges'' (2002). His children with his first wife, Rosemary A. Stevens, are Carey Stevens and Richard Stevens. He was married to Kathie Booth Stevens (born 16 December 1948), a retired educator, art historian, and magistrate, until his death at Oxford in January 2021. Their daughter is the children's novelist

Robin Stevens Robin Gordon Stevens (born 30 January 1960) is an English puppeteer, actor, director and writer for children's TV for nearly 30 years, and has done many successful programmes. These include ''Pob's Programme'', '' Corners'', ''Teletubbies'', ...

References

External links

Robert B. Stevens Papers (MS 1686).
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Robert Bocking 2021 deaths 1933 births Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn British barristers Yale University alumni Yale University faculty Tulane University faculty Haverford College faculty Chancellors of the University of California, Santa Cruz Masters of Pembroke College, Oxford Academics of University College London Presidents of Haverford College Governors of Abingdon School