Roberta B. Holt, DSW
Roberta B. Holt, DSW, was an esteemed faculty member at the Bowen Center until her death in 2009. The tribute below to Bobbie and her contributions to Bowen theory and the work of the Center was written by Dr. Michael Kerr, Director Emeritus of the Bowen Center.
“I first met Bobbie in 1969 as a fellow participant in Murray Bowen’s family programs at the Georgetown University Medical School. We became friends and worked together as colleagues over the next forty years. She was the consummate professional, highly respected by her colleagues and by the families she treated. Bobbie was also an extremely important representative of Murray Bowen’s work.
Dr. Holt firmly embraced Murray Bowen’s goal of developing a science of human behavior. She organized a biology-reading group for therapists and others who wanted to learn about the biological and evolutionary basis of human behavior. During one period in her career, she traveled regularly to the NIMH Animal Research Center and helped gather data for Dr. Jack Calhoun’s population density studies with mice. Her fascinating presentations about this work persuaded many of us that Robert Burns was correct: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Bobbie also served for five years on the Georgetown University Medical School’s Research Committee on Human Ethics and Scientific Merit. She served on the editorial board of the journal Family Systems from its inception until late last year.
Bobbie made more than twenty professional presentations at conferences and published more than a dozen papers. Dr. Joyce Brothers quoted from her 1981 paper entitled, The Family that Produces a Darwin, Einstein or Freud. She made her last presentation at the Annual Symposium in November 2008, an excellent one on differentiation and cooperative interaction in work systems. It made its own statement about Bobbie’s discipline in the face of adversity.
Bobbie’s death leaves a profound void at the Bowen Center. It is impossible to cover all her contributions but perhaps four words summarize it: standards, persistence, responsibility, and graciousness. Bobbie brought spirit and enthusiasm to the Center and the faculty and staff loved to work with her. When she was responsible for a program, it was done right. If she did not think a faculty member measured up, she said so. She could say, “No,” and took her share of criticism from people for it. Bobbie knew what it took to run a successful organization.
She mentored many young professionals and relished the task. Visitors who encountered Bobbie at the Center would remember her fondly even years later. Much of her effectiveness stemmed from dealing warmly and responsibly with people. She made many efforts to raise money for the Center and became famous for her “reports of non-results!” She persisted and managed to secure a $10,000 donation to support the Bowen Center’s 2008 spring conference, “Schizophrenia: Diagnosis is Not Destiny.”
I used to refer to Bobbie as the Perle Mesta—“the hostess with the mostest,”—of Bowen theory. Many conference-related social gatherings at her home in Chevy Chase turned good conferences into excellent ones. The atmosphere Bobbie created promoted better academic exchange. I think we all learned from Bobbie in that regard.
Last but not least is Family Matters, the public access television show jointly produced by the Bowen Center and University of the District of Columbia. It has been Bobbie at her absolute best. She worked very hard to make family systems ideas accessible to others through an interview format. The Bowen Center-UDC team has produced over fifty shows that air regularly in the District of Columbia and several surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia. Bobbie, in collaboration with Edward Jones at UDC, has been its life-blood.
Bobbie was a unique person and will not be replaced. Those of us at the Bowen Center will do our best to continue the spirit and dedication that she has exemplified for forty years in the family programs.”