Complex sentence: Rob Nixon received a B.A. from Rhodes University, South Africa, in 1978, an M.A. in English from the University of Iowa in 1982, and a Ph.D. in English from Columbia University in 1989.
Split into simpler sentences: Rob Nixon received a B.A. from Rhodes University, South Africa, in 1978. He was awarded an M.A. in English from the University of Iowa in 1982, and a Ph.D. in English from Columbia University in 1989.