 Robert Gist was appointed Head of the School of Arts at the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education (DDIAE)
now the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia from the beginning of 1973 to the end of 1975.Also, during the 1960s, he made himself into a Hollywood acting coach, forming one of the actors' workshops of that time.In 1964, he used its members—who he named "The Group"—to perform several evenings of Carl Sandburg's poetry.