Zatlin, Phyllis, 1938-....

Dr. Phyllis Zatlin, literary critic, translator and professor of Spanish, was born on December 31, 1938, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Zatlin graduated as valedictorian from St. Petersburg High School, St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1956 and went on to complete her undergraduate education at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. In 1960, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and French, graduating with highest honors, including selection for Who’s Who among American Colleges and Universities . With the encouragement from her French professor at Rollins, Robert Morgenroth, Zatlin was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and studied at the University of Grenoble, France, from 1960 to 1961. She returned to the United States in 1962 to earn a Master of Arts in Spanish from the University of Florida as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. Continuing her graduate work at the University of Florida, Zatlin received her Ph.D. in 1965 in Romance Languages; her dissertation was entitled The Bases of Humor in Contemporary Spanish Theater .

Zatlin joined the faculty of Rutgers University in 1963, and by 1966 was an Assistant Professor of Spanish and French. From 1971 to 1979, she was Associate Professor of Spanish, and was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1980. Active in university and department administration, Zatlin served as Assistant Dean of Rutgers College from 1974 until 1980 and as Department Chair and Graduate Director for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese from 1980 to 1987. In addition, she founded the Rutgers in Spain summer program in 1982 and directed the program until 1999. Zatlin also established a translator and interpreter training program in the department. She was the coordinator of the program from 1987 until her retirement. Upon retirement in December of 2008, she was granted the title of Professor Emerita.

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