Robert Morse Crunden was a professor of American studies

American studies

American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...

 and history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

Crunden graduated from Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 magna cum laude in 1962, and then attended Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 where he received his PhD in 1967. While at Yale he was a member of St. Elmo

St. Elmo (secret society)

St. Elmo Society is a secret society at Yale University. It was founded in 1889 as an independent entity for seniors within the nationally chartered fraternity, Delta Phi , Omicron Chapter .-History:...

, a secret society

Secret society

A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...

. He was a professor at the University of Texas, director of American Studies Department, 1985–1990, and a member of the History Department.