Mario Maurin, 85, French professor at Bryn Mawr

Mario Maurin, 85, the Eunice Morgan Schenck 1907 Professor Emeritus of French at Bryn Mawr College for two decades, died Saturday, Sept. 20, of cancer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Maurin, of Rosemont, received his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, all by the age of 22, "a noteworthy accomplishment" for so young a man, said Bryn Mawr College president Kim Cassidy.

He joined the staff at Bryn Mawr College in 1953 as an assistant professor in the French department. He was named associate professor in 1959 and a full professor in 1965.

In 1979, Dr. Maurin was appointed Eunice Morgan Schenck 1907 Professor of French, a prestigious endowed position he held before retiring in 2000.

During his tenure at Bryn Mawr, Dr. Maurin chaired the department for 11 consecutive years, supervised master's and doctoral students, and served on various college committees.

He taught a variety of courses on 19th- and 20th- century French poetry and fiction.

He also taught for many years at the Institut d'Études françaises d'Avignon - a summer institute in France under the auspices of Bryn Mawr College - and as a visiting professor at Haverford College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.

His scholarship included early work on André Suarès, a French philosopher, and books on Giacomo Leopardi, an Italian writer; Henri de Régnier, a French writer; and Henri Peyre.

His final book was Henri Peyre: His Life in Letters, written with John W. Kneller and published in 2005. Peyre was chair of the French department at Yale for more than four decades.

"Henri recommended Mario to be hired by Bryn Mawr College," said his wife, Grace M. Armstrong.

Dr. Maurin also wrote numerous articles in Spanish that were published in Latin American and South American newspapers.

During his career, he won recognition from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Académie française, and the French government, which named him a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques in 1976.

"It's a great honor for French scholars to receive this," his wife said. "You are being recognized for your achievements in literature."

Dr. Maurin came to the United States in 1941 with his mother and maternal uncle, a founder of the French Communist Party. The family was given refuge here under a Roosevelt administration program to save European intellectuals from Nazi persecution. Joaquin Maurin, Dr. Maurin's father and one of the founders of the Spanish Socialist Party, remained in prison in Spain.

President Emeritus Pat McPherson said Dr. Maurin "was one in a line of excellent faculty who came to Bryn Mawr from the graduate program at Yale."

Former student Kathryn Crecelius, who graduated in 1973, said Dr. Maurin "was not just a professor, he was a mentor."

On the occasion of his retirement, Nancy Vickers, president emeritus, described Dr. Maurin as "an astute scholar of literature . . . and a poet in his own right."

She also attributed the depth and quality of the holdings in the French department's library to Dr. Maurin's "discriminating judgment."

In the classroom, Dr. Maurin, a quiet person, lectured "with erudition and conviction and held his students to high standards," his wife said. Outside the classroom, he was "a patient and fun-loving father" who liked to hike, and drive fast.

Besides his wife, the college's current Eunice Morgan Schenck 1907 Professor of French, he is survived by a daughter, Elana Maurin, and two grandchildren.

He was previously married to Margaret S. Maurin, who survives.

Plans for a memorial are pending. Burial is private.

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