Longtime professors Edward Domber, Frank Occhiogrosso, and Nadine Ollman
July 2026 – Drew University is mourning the recent passing of three long-time faculty members.
In the span of one week, Drew lost Edward Domber C’67, Frank Occhiogrosso, and Nadine Ollman, who spent more than 120 combined years at Drew, all retiring with emeritus status for their contributions and connection to Drew.
Edward Domber, professor emeritus of psychology, passed away on June 23 at the age of 84. Domber earned his bachelor’s degree from Drew in 1967. After earning a master’s and PhD in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, he returned to Drew to teach in 1971. He stayed at his alma mater for more than 35 years.
Domber primarily taught and researched behavioral psychology. When Drew became the first school to provide all incoming students with personal laptops, Domber led a study of the program’s impacts. Upon his retirement from the classroom, Domber stayed at Drew from 2000-05 as an associate dean. Throughout his time at Drew, Domber was known to bring his love of gardening to campus, encouraging the formation of gardening groups to bring faculty and staff together.
Frank Occhiogrosso, professor emeritus of English, passed away on June 24 at the age of 82. Occhiogrosso joined Drew in 1970, the year after he earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins. He would be a mainstay at Drew for the next four-plus decades.
Occhiogrosso was known for bringing Shakespeare to life in the classroom and on the stage, both at Drew and as dramaturg for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. He also published two collections of essays on Shakespeare.
He received numerous teaching accolades throughout his time at Drew, including the Scholar-Teacher of the Year Award, the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies Professor of the Year Award, and the Merrill Skaggs Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Nadine “Nicky” Ollman, professor emeritus of English, passed away on June 27 at the age of 86. After completing bachelor’s and doctoral degrees at Penn, Ollman came to Drew in 1967 and stayed for the next 47 years, introducing generations of students to 18th century literature with courses on Austen, the Brontes, and the fairy tale.
Beyond the classroom, Ollman was instrumental to the fabric of Drew at large, serving on myriad committees and bringing about lasting change through the creation of the women’s studies minor and securing salary equity for women faculty.
