Bob was one of the best educators I have come across in my many years teaching and tutoring at CSI and elsewhere. He always had a dry wit and always came up with a solution to difficult situations without losing his cool. The world is a smaller place without his guidance. My condolences to his family and friends.

Andy Mayer
Prof. Emeritus,CSI/CUNY, History and English

To the family of Bob Brandt:  
I just wanted to share how important Bob was to me and the ESL Program at CSI.  I always knew that when things were crazy-hectic and I felt discouraged about what was going on in my classes, I could drop by the Writing Center and Bob would lift my spirits with one of his funny-isms.  Bob knew how to make me smile, no matter what was going on.  When it came to the ESL students with whom I work, Bob ensured that the Writing Center tutors were ready and trained well.  I knew when one of my ESL students was working with a Writing Center tutor, for I would see significant improvement.  Bob, you will be terribly missed and shall remain forever in my memory and heart.  Thank you for all that you did over the years for our students.

Sloane

Bob was my dear friend for 20 years. We had similar backgrounds, loved sports and good writing.  I'm going to miss him dearly. 
See  you on the other side. And I don't mean Brooklyn. Coney Island, represent!!! Jets, Knicks, Mets. Sorry for that. At least you had 1969.

I knew Bob for sixteen years.  He was my first supervisor ever.  After taking Eng 111, Professor Conti recommended that I apply for a job as tutor and Bob wanted me to write a sample page.  I wasn’t sure what to do so I went with what I knew.  I was an angry youth who felt like I had no place in the world for so long.  So I remember writing about superheroes and how I needed him to be one for me so someone could give me a chance.  

And he did.  

He was a superhero of a special kind.  His powers were agency and language.  And he shared them freely.  By giving me a chance, he allowed me to learn how relate to people in new way.  I got to feel respected for my talents and he saw how well I took to it.  He helped foster a new flame in the volcano that I kept bottled up.  It’s strange, how people can have these ripple effects in the ponds of other lives.  And Bob’s encouragement made me feel like a big fish in a small fen.  

He was like a second father to me in some ways.  We’d talk about my novels and all the characters I was living through.  A hundred minds at the same time.  Writing takes a toll of empathy in that sense, but it is very freeing on the other side of that pale threshold.  Throughout online tutoring, when I was commissioning art for mythological characters and book covers, he wanted me to show him each new update.  He said that seeing the art brightened up the bureaucracy of his workdays.  

The one moment that sticks with me most though is early on.  I remember the look on his face when I made one of my miniature foil sculptures for him that first time.  It was a student working at desk.  Robin, a tutor at the time, told me Bob's face melted in a way she had never seen before, as if was he was a young boy again receiving his first gift at a toy store.  It was raw awe.

I wanted Bob to have a grand final hurrah in his retirement.  

I didn’t want it to happen like this.

He was such a wonderful and understanding person to work with.

I will miss him.

CSI – remembrances (4 of 4)



From Kerri Deitch Ferretti:
I worked with Bob years ago in The Writing Center. We had many great conversations and a lot of laughs.  I will miss seeing him in 2S.  May he rest in peace.  
 
From Maryann Feola:
This is indeed sad news. Bob’s devotion to the College, department, and everyone who passed through the doors of the Writing Center was spectacular. The numerous students who benefitted from the tutoring they received under his gentle—but always professional—watch is quite a legacy. 
 
I’ll miss his laugh and exemplary collegiality. 
 

From Cate Marvin:
This makes me so sad. I used to see Bob all the time, especially when I was a smoker. We'd run into one another on the steps outside 2S and exchange sardonic comments. I loved how he wore a sort of uniform, which I regarded as succinct and fashionable, of green pants and a button-down. He had such a great laugh, and he was so frigging smart. This all seems quite sudden. I don't like that I didn't get to see him one last time. And that I never got to say good bye.
 


From Barry Sheinkopf:
A fine man—we went way back, and I will miss his wry view of the human condition.

CSI – remembrances (3 of 4)

From Mary Boland, Director of the Writing Program for the English Department:

This is just such terrible news.  
 
Bob was a good colleague and a good man.  He cared deeply about students, his tutors, and the faculty whose work he supported via the writing center.  He was always there to consult with, and routinely went out of his way to accommodate requests from instructors to get vulnerable students into appointments on short notice.  He also brought a level of care and professionalism to the Writing Center that ensured truly meaningful tutoring (and tutor training) happened.  
 
At a personal level, Bob showed me nothing but kindness when I arrived here and he was instrumental in helping me find my way.  Like others, I enjoyed his wry humor.  I was also touched and supported by his compassion and outreach when my mom died.  He was a kind soul.  I will miss him. 
 
My condolences to all of us and to his son.
 
 

From Sherrie Michos:
I am very sad to hear this. Bob and I both worked for ELI 30+ years ago back in the original Saint George campus. I have fond memories of him through the decades there, at ‘sunnyside campus’ and the present campus. 
I know he will be missed by many.


From Lewis Dimmick:
RIP BOB, longtime friend & colleague, sharer of laughs in the hallway or outside 2S over hysterically cynical comments, someone I always saw eye to eye with and was happy to meet up and chat with. So sad to receive this news.
 


From Tim Gray:
Bob was very dedicated to his work and influenced students and teachers alike across generations.
I also love the way Bob's eyes twinkled whenever he let that guttural laugh spill out after his inimitable one-liners.
2S, second floor, will never be the same.
Miss you, buddy.


(continued)

CSI – remembrances (2 of 4)


From Linda Principe:
So very sad to hear this.  Bob and I started here together nearly 38 years ago and were in a course for new adjuncts together, as well, so we got to be friends. I had the opportunity to collaborate with him several times over the years in my capacity as the SEEK English tutor lead.  We always had fun and enjoyed trading sardonic barbs with each other.  He was a wonderful and kind guy and he will be genuinely missed.



From Susan Chapman:
I’m so sad to hear about Bob, he was not only a colleague, but he was such a good friend. I will miss him. 


From Melanie McNulty:
I'm so sorry and so sad about this. Bob was my teacher, my mentor, my colleague, and my friend...he has been a huge part of my journey at CSI and will certainly be missed.
 



From Nancy Johnson:
Very sad news indeed,
 
I first met Bob at the Writing Center when I was a student. He subsequently hired me to work as a tutor during which time I saw a seemingly endless array of students, tutors, and colleagues seek his advice and assistance, which he always provided.
 
Not only was Bob influential in my being hired as an adjunct, but also in the legal process of adopting my grandson. His compassion, kindness and willingness to help others was boundless. 
 
I feel blessed to have known Bob and am grateful for the heart-print that he left behind.
 

 

(continued)

My brother Bob both taught at CSI and ran the Writing Center at CSI (College of Staten Island) in one combination or another for over 35 years.
Bob’s son, Sean, informed the college and received messages of condolence and remembrance from Bob’s colleagues via the English Department Chair, Lee Papa. 
I found these messages especially moving since I remember Bob in the role of teacher/mentor/guide from when he was an undergraduate at Brooklyn College and then going for his master’s degree at CCNY.  
Being 11 years his junior I was only in grammar school, but he would suggest books for me to read.  With the comment, “yeah, you should be able to handle this” he had me reading Jack London and John Steinbeck in fifth and sixth grades. He would always take the time to discuss the books afterwards to make sure I had some inkling of what I was reading.
He was also available to me to proofread assignments and papers all the way through high school, and then Kingsborough Community and Queens Colleges.  Twenty years after that he was helping my wife’s nephew with a college application; 4 years ago, helping my daughter with her AP English class in high school; and in the past few years helping my son with some of his high school assignments. (damn, I wish he was here now to edit this rambling mess).
Anyway, I suggested to Sean that it would be nice if others could read Bob’s colleagues remembrances and with Lee’s kind concurrence, here they are (due to character limitations, I am splitting these across 4 condolence messages).
 Jim Brandt:
	


Here are many of the messages members of the English Department sent replying to the email I sent out. There were also tears from people I spoke to and condolences from around the campus. He definitely left his mark at CSI.
 
Warmly,
Lee
 
(continued)

Deepest condolences to the family on your loss.  My memories of "Bobby" go way back to our formative years in Brooklyn.  As a fellow academic and both writers we traversed somewhat parallel paths in life.  I commend you Bob for all you achieved, for all whom you touched and for all the love you shared. 
May your memory be a blessing always.
--Michael E. Brandt (cousin), Houston

Professor Brandt always had the back of his tutors. I owe him a great deal his wit and wisdom will be missed. We are so much better for having known you! The world is a poorer place without you. Rest in peace professor.

To the Brandt family, please accept my deepest sympathies. Bob Brandt was my greatest mentor. I love him like I love my own father. In my heart, he is family. I cherish the five years I worked for him at the CSI Writing Center—some of the best days of my life. With his incredible wit, his remarkable wisdom, and cutting sense of humor, he was one of the finest conversationalists I’ve ever met.

Bob taught me how to be myself, confidently and unapologetically. He listened to me and took interest in my life, my aspirations, and my successes. In getting to know him, he became one of the best parts of working and taking classes at CSI. Bob was just so much fun to be around and talk to.

To this day, I still remember some of our running jokes, like when he’d reference an old movie or work of literature, and would say “Oh, who am I kidding, you haven’t heard of it.” And it was always true! I’d often joke that I was the only English major who hadn’t read anything.

I remember sharing news that I was getting to make a speech in front of the English Department at my graduation. He spent so much time helping me make my speech the best it could have been. I was so proud that he was a part of that moment—that success—with me. I was so excited to take a picture with him and to immortalize that time of my life.

Beyond what I can or can’t remember, there will always be what I feel and who I am. I feel honored to have known Bob, and I am the person I am today thanks to the time I spent learning from him. His influence was so strong that a piece of him will live on in all that I do.

Although I cannot make the service, I will pray for him tonight, and will honor his memory by sharing stories of our time together with my wife. Rest peacefully, Professor Brandt.

Sean,  
I’m so sorry to hear of your dad’s passing.  I will keep you in my prayers.

Hi Sean,
I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad passing away.  Thanksgivings will be forever etched in my memory...I can't remember the order of the way things usually went, did Uncle Bobby usually take his post thanksgiving nap on the sofa before or after you had pushed his buttons to the point of a brief volcanic eruption signalled by  grumbling  curse words that were difficult to make out unless you were close enough to hear the colourful mixture of adjectives and adverbs???  It really makes me smile because we all knew it was inevitable and was as guaranteed as turkey and gravy on the day :-). I hope you and your family are okay and I'm so sorry for your loss. Love, Eddie

OBITUARY

Robert J. Brandt

January 28, 1953 – October 19, 2023

Casey Funeral Home

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