ROBERT F. SCHUMANN ’44

ROBERT F. SCHUMANN, chairperson emeritus of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy and owner of the Schumann-Van Atta Buick in Binghamton, N.Y., died Dec. 8, 2011, at age 90. He received an honorary doctor of humane letters from Wesleyan in 2004. The Robert F. Schumann Program Fund and the Robert F. Schumann Chair in Environmental Studies are named for him. A member of Chi Psi, he worked for United Airlines and later obtained his own Buick dealership in Binghamton, N.Y., where he lived for 50 years and served on many community boards. He spent every summer of his life and the last 10 years at his family’s home in Madison, Conn., where he served on the board of the Florence Griswold Museum and was involved in environmental causes. A passionate birder from childhood, he had been on the boards of the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. He served on the board and was president of the Schumann Foundation, which was created by his parents in 1962. It is now known as The Schumann Media Center. He received an honorary doctor of humane letters from Wesleyan in 2004. The Robert F. Schumann Program Fund and the Robert F. Schumann Chair in Environmental Studies are named for him. Survivors include his wife, Marilyn Hotchkiss Schumann and their combined families, which include three sons, five daughters, seven grandchildren, two great-granddaughters, and his brother.