Robert R. Perkoski

Robert Raymond Perkoski, 69 years old, of Churchill passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, November 8, 2023. Robert was born to Frank Perkoski and Revina Mihalek on October 5, 1954. He is predeceased by his father. Robert is survived by his sister, Terri Tunick and her husband, Steve Tunick and his niece, Rachael Tunick Grometer, nephew, David Alan Tunick and great niece, Nora June Grometer and great nephew, Henry Robert Grometer. After graduating from Wittenberg College in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, he began his professional career working as a Resident Director at Robert Morris College, Slippery Rock State College, and Thiel College. He received his Master of Arts in Education from Slippery Rock State College. In 1984, Robert, who was also known as "Bob", "Dr. Perkoski" or "Perks" started working at the University of Pittsburgh in the Placement Service Office. At Pitt is where Bob found his passion. Bob rose to Director of Placement and Career Services from 1990-1999, where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the career services office including designing and implementing management training programs. In 1999, Bob joined the faculty of the (then) Department of Information Science and Telecommunications as an adjunct faculty member. He started teaching the Advanced Introduction to Information Science and Introduction to Telecommunications courses at the undergraduate level. In 2000, he joined the Department as a full-time faculty member and director of the Undergraduate Program in Information Science. While serving in these various positions, he earned his Master of Science in Information Science/Studies and in 2017 went on to achieve his Doctorate in Higher Education/ Higher Education Administration, also from the University of Pittsburgh. During his tenure with the Department, Bob taught an impressive number of classes. In 2019, he worked closely with then department chair Prashant Krishnamurthy in redesigning the BS in Informational Science curriculum, expanding it to a four-year program. He also contributed to the development of the BS in Computational Social Science and the newly introduced Information Science Minor. Bob's in-depth knowledge of higher education served the department and Pitt well. Throughout his career, Bob served on hundreds of committees, mentored untold numbers of undergraduate students, and served as a resource for new faculty and part-time instructors with the department. Bob was often the first person a new undergraduate student would meet and usually the last person to congratulate those students on successfully completing their program of study. Bob played an important role in 23 years of new student orientations and graduations. Bob was an outspoken advocate for the Information Sciences, a caring and involved colleague. Bob was loving and kind, but his keen intellect fueled his many interests. After our Thanksgiving dinners, it was a holiday tradition to play a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit that could involve over 20 participants among family and friends. It was a bonus if Bob was on your team. He had an impressive knowledge base of obscure information and a competitive spirit. At Christmas time, one could always expect the most unusual gifts from him. This was him and his humor was the way he expressed his love the most. He rarely had an unkind word. His wry wit was quick, clever, and amusing. Bob was always there to support his mother and sister and anyone in need. A "Celebration of Bob's Life' will be held on Friday, December 8, at 1pm at the Information Sciences Building, Third Floor, 135 North Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. At his academic home, you are invited to share a funny story, a memory, or examples of how Bob impacted your life. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made online giveto.pitt.edu/perkoskimemorial , or contact Terri Taylor, Director of Development, at territaylor@pitt.edu. Bob's family has established the Robert R. Perkoski Memorial Fund at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information to support Bob's lifelong career commitment to provide all undergraduate students with the education and resources they need to enter the world with a mastery of technology to solve societal problems.

Robert R. Perkoski

October 5, 1954 - November 8, 2023