Robin Scott Wilson (September 19, 1928September 2013) was an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

author and editor, and former President of

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had ...

Life and career

Wilson was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

and earned a BA degree from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1949, before spending a year in the Merchant Marine. He then went back to school, obtaining an MA at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. He served in

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

for several years, before finishing his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

work at the University of Illinois in 1959. Wilson worked for the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

for several years in the 1960s before deciding to devote himself to teaching and writing. He taught English and writing, and organized the original

Clarion Writers Workshop Clarion is a six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Damon Knight's and Kate Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, United States, it was founded ...

, at Clarion State College,

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, ...

1968, followed by instruction at

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 ...

, and

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. He also wrote several science fiction novels, and served as a consulting editor for the ''

Journal of Higher Education ''The Journal of Higher Education'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering higher education. The journal was established in 1930. It is published by Taylor & Francis. Previously, it was published by Ohio State University Press. The ...

''. He had several

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

published in ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher a ...

'' during the 1990s.

In many of his fiction works, he is credited as "Robin Scott". In 1980, Wilson was appointed President of California State University, Chico. In March 1987, the university was named the number one party school in the nation. This prompted Wilson to demand that the local police actively intervene in the parties, shutting them down by force. During the last week in April, police wearing riot gear marched into a crowd of pedestrians in a flying v formation, causing a

police riot A police riot is a riot carried out by the police; more specifically, it is a riot that police are responsible for instigating, escalating or sustaining as a violent confrontation. Police riots are often characterized by widespread police bruta ...

. The annual observation of Pioneer Days, ordinarily held on the first Saturday in May was suspended. The annual event has since been re-organized. He also asked the

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

to leave the campus, after a resolution passed by the school's faculty senate. Wilson retired from his position with Cal State Chico in 1993, and moved on to

California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and ...

, where he served as a "trustee professor".

Bibliography

*
Fair Test
, ''Galaxy'', April 1967
Seconds' Chance
, ''Galaxy'', July 1968 *"The Grift of the Magellanae", ''

'', March 1999 *''Clarion'' (editor) (this was a collection of short science fiction which was followed by ''Clarion 2'' and ''Clarion 3'') *''Death by Degrees: A Mystery'' *''Paragons: Twelve Master Science Fiction Writers Ply Their Craft '' (editor) *''Those Who Can: A Science Fiction Reader'' (editor) *''Wondermakers: an anthology of classic science fiction'' (co-editor) *

Sources

Official Cal State, Chico bio page

References

Downloadable biography of Robin Scott Wilson from amazon.com (requires payment)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Robin 1928 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers American male novelists American male short story writers American sailors American science fiction writers California State University, Chico California State University, Monterey Bay faculty Heads of universities and colleges in the United States The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Michigan State University faculty Novelists from Louisiana Novelists from Michigan Novelists from Ohio Tulane University faculty Writers from Columbus, Ohio