Marilyn Gaddis Rose, 1930-2015

Portions of the following were published on the website of Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Marilyn Gaddis Rose

Marilyn Gaddis Rose, 85, a distinguished service professor of comparative literature and a recipient of ATA’s Alexander Gode Medal, died on November 15, 2015.

Marilyn was born in Fayette, Missouri, on April 2, 1930, to Merrill E. and Florence Lyon Gaddis. She received a BA in English (summa cum laude) from Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, in 1952. She was awarded a Fulbright student fellowship and spent the 1952–53 academic year studying French civilization at the Université de Lyon. She received her master’s degree in French (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of South Carolina in 1955, and a PhD in French from the University of Missouri in 1958. In 1984, she was recognized by Central Methodist University with an honorary doctorate.

Marilyn taught at William Jewell College, the University of South Carolina, the University of Missouri, Indiana University, and Stephens College prior to joining the faculty at Binghamton University in 1968. In addition to her leadership in translation studies at Binghamton, she served as chair of comparative literature for two terms, as undergraduate advisor for a dozen years, and as the founding director of the Translation Research and Instruction Program. She was promoted to distinguished service professor of comparative literature in 1991. Her research interests included translation studies and Anglo-Irish and French literatures of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Marilyn served on ATA’s Board of Directors from 1985–1988. In 1988, Marilyn received ATA’s Alexander Gode Medal for her contribution to translation pedagogy and scholarship. ATA later made her an honorary member. She was the founding editor of ATA’s Scholarly Monograph series. She also served as chair of ATA’s Honors and Awards Committee.

In addition to ATA, she was involved in other professional organizations, including the Modern Language Association, International Comparative Literature Association, and the American Association of Teachers of French. She also served on the editorial boards of such publications as Translation Review, Interface, and Translation Encyclopedia. She served as series editor for Women Writers in Translation and manuscripts editor for Translation Perspectives, the scholarly journal of Binghamton’s Center for Research in Translation. She was the author of the textbook Translation Spectrum, and was also a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Literary Translation and the Oxford Guide to English Literature in Translation.