Robert Gleaves

Faculty Website Spanish

Robert Gleaves, Ph.D., passed away on August 16, 2019. He received his Ph.D. in Spanish from Vanderbilt University. Bob taught at the University of South Florida, before coming to UNC Charlotte in 1969. He served as Chair of the department from 1982-1988 and as Associate Chair from 2000 until his retirement in 2003. He served on countless university committees and was the author of the first Missions and Goals statement for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Gleaves estimated that he taught Elementary Spanish classes 92 times over his career at UNC Charlotte. Bob developed the first Writing Intensive class in the department, Hispanic Literature in English Translation. He was especially fond of Latin American poets, such as Pablo Neruda, and taught many classes focusing on Poets of the Hispanic World. He also directed summer programs in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Costa Rica.

Dr. Gleaves was an early adopter of computer technology. He served on the department’s Computing Advisory Committee for many years, and presented at the First North Carolina Assessment of Education Computing Conference. Bob developed “French and Spanish Character Sets for Atari Computers,” for the SOFTSWAP collection of foreign language programs for educators in the 1980s.

Dr. Gleaves continued to teach Spanish literature in the summer sessions at UNC Charlotte for many years after his retirement. He exhibited admirable patience with his students.