Cynthia H Whittaker

Cynthia H. Whittaker passed peacefully in her Manhattan home on October 11, 2023. She was cherished as a mother, grandmother, and professor by family, friends, colleagues, and former students. She retired as Emeritus Professor at Baruch College of CUNY in 2011.

Cynthia leaves behind her daughter Erica Whittaker (with her husband Andrew Young), their daughters Sophie Young and Heather Young, her son Andrew Tryon Whittaker (with his wife Elizabeth Whittaker), and their sons Harrison T. Whittaker and Grant T. Whittaker. Her marriages to Robert T. Whittaker, Jr. and Richard C. Wade both ended in divorce. Her marriage to Robert Lamont Belknap in 1997 lasted until his death in 2014. Her brother Lee Hyla, a renowned composer and professor of music, died in 2014.

Dr. Whittaker grew up in Niagara Falls, NY, and received her B.A. from Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY. She received master’s degrees in Russian history and Russian literature and a doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Indiana University. Before her retirement Dr. Whittaker was Chair of the Department of History. She taught Russian and European history at Baruch for four decades. Professor Whittaker’s research concentrated on Russian political culture, and her publications covered a range of topics including the oriental renaissance, the women’s movement, abolitionism, and university education. Her book, “The Origins of Modern Russian Education: An Intellectual Biography of Count Sergei Uvarov,” was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Professor Whittaker was a Fulbright Scholar as well as the recipient of numerous research awards. In 1999-2000, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Slavic Research Center of Hokkaido University in Japan.

A funeral service for Cynthia will be held Monday, October 16, 2023 at 12:00 PM at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 West 76th Street, New York, NY 10023.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.riversidememorialchapel.com for the Whittaker family.