Donna Robertson : An Oral History

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Donna Robertson, Director of Donor Relations, Emerita, in the Stanford University Office of Development, describes growing up in Southern California, meeting Channing Robertson in high school, and their path to Stanford. She speaks about building a home on campus when Channing joined the faculty and explains her journey with the Development Office, which began with her offering to create name tags and led to her position as Director of Donor Relations. She outlines the logistics of putting on approximately 150 events per year, recalls her favorite event in Frost Amphitheater, and describes how much she enjoyed working with her staff team, the fundraisers, and individual donors. She talks about working closely with three Stanford presidents, shares several anecdotes, including the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Stanford, and fondly recalls some the special cards and gifts that she has had made for major Stanford donors.

Type of resource	text
Extent	1 text file
Place	Stanford (Calif.)
Publisher	Stanford Historical Society
Language	English
Digital origin	born digital

Interviewee	Robertson, Donna
Creator	Robertson, Donna
Interviewer	Thomson, Jan
Publisher	Stanford Historical Society

Subject	Stanford University
Subject	Stanford University. Office of Development
Subject	Educational fund raising > United States
Genre	Interview

Biographical Profile	Donna Robertson’s career at Stanford spanned forty years in event planning and donor support for the Stanford Office of Development, including three decades of service as the Director of Donor Relations. Robertson was born in North Hollywood, California, and grew up in Big Bear Lake and Glendale. She attended Herbert Hoover High School, where she met her future husband, Channing Robertson, and she earned a teaching credential at the University of the Pacific. The Robertsons came to Stanford in the mid-1960s where Channing earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering while Donna taught elementary school in San Carlos. In 1970, Channing accepted a faculty position at Stanford in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and the Robertsons built a home on campus. In 1980, Donna began part-time work in the Development Office at Stanford, staffing donor-related events and using her artistic skills to make calligraphic invitations, place cards, and nametags for events. By 1990, she had become the Director of Donor Relations and was responsible for all the events that involved the Deans, Provosts, and Presidents--working full time, and then some. She retired from Stanford in 2020.
Audio/Video	Title Audio/Video
Finding Aid	Title Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program Interviews
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/pv963dr4405
Location	SC0932
Repository	Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Use and reproduction: The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).

Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022

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