Robert Lloyd Dial

Our world needed more people Bob Dial. I liked him because he spoke about jazz and literature and film. Still the same today. Bob brought humor and jokes into the lives many people who were in his classes at the University. Bob respected so many forms of non-conformity that he made people who might be different feel important. Bob liked to teach undergraduates and I found out why many years ago. He was good at it. He supported social causes to help less fortunate people. Bob Dial was a good...

As an undergrad, working on a BA in English, I took Bob's film appreciation class; it was my favorite class of all the classes I was ever enrolled in. Bob was the second reader on my graduate thesis back in 1984, when I was finishing my MA in English. When I was an adjunct professor from 1989 through 2001, Bob and I often had impromptu discussions about the movies of the day. And he wrote letters of recommendation for me when I needed them, when I left UAkron. Bob was a great mentor and...

Bob was a fine gentleman and a wonderful colleague. I had the privilege of knowing and working with him for many years at Akron U. The world is a poorer place without him.
My thoughts are with Sonya and the family.

Bob Dial, along with Milt Guthrie and Roland Paolucci, were instrumental in fostering a great love of Jazz for a large number of us in the Akron area. The fond memories of The Akron Jazz Workshop will be with us as long as music remains a part of our lives.