September 29, 2013
Dr. Norma Kroll
Dr. Norma Kroll, a retired professor of English who taught at the College for 25 years, died July 25.
The Providence native returned to Rhode Island College to pursue her bachelor’s degree in English while her two older sons were young children and graduated summa cum laude in 1965. She continued her studies at Brown University on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, earning a master’s degree in 1969 and a doctorate in English in 1971. Dr. Kroll studied Anglo-Saxon language and literature, Middle English language and literature, and Renaissance literature. Her papers and articles on the literary cosmologies in Medieval, Renaissance, and Modern works were published in many academic journals.
She taught at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Northeastern University before she came to PC as an adjunct professor in 1985. Dr. Kroll became an assistant professor in 1988 and taught Medieval literature, Medieval drama, and Modern drama. In 2005, she was promoted to professor of English and retired five years later.
She is survived by her husband, Glenn Flierl; her sons, Stephen, Leonard, and David; three grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; and a brother. A service was held at Congregation Agudas Achim in Attleboro, Mass., on August 1.
