Messenger - Vol. 1, No. 2, Page 27
Winter 1992
Recent faculty deaths
George F. Frick, H.F. Du Pont Associate Professor Emeritus of History,
died May 28. A faculty member for 30 years, Dr. Frick was a specialist
in American colonial history and culture, with a lifelong interest in
the growth of American science and botanical history. He was
coordinator of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture in the
early 1970s, co-founder of the London Semester and faculty marshall at
Commencement ceremonies from 1969 until his retirement.

     Erskine Wakefield Smith, who taught accounting at the University
from 1948 to 1974, died July 22. An adviser to the Student Government
Association, Prof. Smith assisted that group in the creation of the
"Scrounge Lounge" in the basement of Memorial Hall in the 1950s.

     Henry A. Robertson Jr., assistant professor of English from
1967-1978, died Aug. 16. Dr. Robertson was the University's first
English Ph.D. recipient. Founder and first director of the
University's Writing Center, he served as lecturer in the center from
1978 until his retirement in 1981.

     David M. Nelson, an important figure in University athletics for
38 years, died Nov. 30. Mr. Nelson served as athletic director from
1951-1984, head football coach from 1951-1966, and dean of the College
of Physical Education, Athletics and Recreation from 1980 until his
retirement in 1989. Known as "The Admiral," he generated the
innovative Wing-T offense, still used in Delaware football game plans,
and he helped develop the University's south campus sports complex and
the women's intercollegiate athletic program.