Sharon Percy Rockefeller : Interview for the John W. Gardner Legacy Oral History Project
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Sharon Percy Rockefeller is the longtime president and CEO of WETA, Washington DC’s flagship PBS station. Married to retired Senator John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV (D-WVA), she was also the First Lady of West Virginia when her husband served as governor in the early years of their marriage. Her friendship with John Gardner goes back many years. Gardner knew her father, Senator Charles “Chuck” Percy, (R-Illinois), and was friends with her father-in-law, John D. Rockefeller III. She attended Stanford, graduating in 1966 with a double major in French literature and political science. Rockefeller discusses her early years in California and Chicago and her father’s transition from the CEO of Bell & Howell to running for political office. She recalls winning a Stanford in Government fellowship to work on the Hill for John V. Lindsay and then for Gerald Ford. She later became deeply engaged with the formation of the Stanford in Washington program and still serves on its advisory council. She also touches on the home invasion that led to the unsolved murder of her twin sister, Valerie, in 1966. Rockefeller explains how her experience campaigning with her father helped prepare her for the challenges of a Rockefeller aspiring to political office in a poor state like West Virginia. She reflects on her husband’s challenges in living out his values as a member of the Rockefeller family. She discusses teaching in Head Start, the founding of Mountain Artisans, and her contributions in the early days of public radio and educational television. Rockefeller discusses serving on the Stanford Board of Trustees with John Gardner and Sandra Day O’Connor. She talks about being in a tiny minority of women on the board and the struggle to diversify its members. Gardner served on the board of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Rockefeller discusses his role on the board and his resignation in the face of conflict over leadership succession. She recounts how she and Gardner would discuss the art of leadership and his advocacy for women in leadership roles. Finally, Rockefeller reviews notes from Cynthia Hahn Yothers, her former executive assistant who also worked with John Gardner for twenty years, recalling Gardner’s varied contributions and several paths not taken.
Description
Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text, still image |
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Extent | 1 audio file; 1 text file; 1 photograph |
Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Date created | September 28, 2017 |
Language | English |
Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
Interviewee | Rockefeller, Sharon Percy, 1944- | |
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Creator | Rockefeller, Sharon Percy, 1944- | |
Interviewer | Abel, Suzanne | |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
Subject | Gardner, John W. (John William), 1912-2002 |
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Subject | Civil Society > United States |
Subject | Women civic leaders |
Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
Biographical profile | Sharon Percy Rockefeller has served the public broadcasting community for more than thirty years as a leader and policymaker. She has been president and CEO of WETA, Washington, DC’s flagship public television and radio stations since 1989. She continues to guide WETA to outstanding accomplishments in broadcasting and production. Before assuming the top post at WETA, she was a member of the WETA Board of Trustees for seven years and a member of the board of directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for twelve years, including four years as chairman. A graduate of Stanford University, Rockefeller is active in a number of areas including education, fine arts, government, and women’s issues. She met John W. Gardner through her father (Charles Percy) and her father-in-law (John D. Rockefeller III) when she was still a young woman, becoming a great admirer and serving as a member of Stanford’s Board of Trustees with Gardner. Rockefeller serves on the boards of the National Gallery of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, and Sibley Memorial Hospital and is an emeritus trustee of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Board. She is president of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, chairman of the board of trustees of the National Gallery of Art and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a trustee of the Federal City Council and a member and former chairman of the Stanford-in-Washington Council. Rockefeller is a former member of the board of directors of PepsiCo, Inc. and served as chairwoman of the Virginia Association of Public Television Stations. She was formerly a member of the board of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the University of Chicago, Sotheby’s, the Smithsonian Associates, the National Cathedral School, The George Washington University, the Smithsonian American Art Commission, The Phillips Collection and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Mrs. Rockefeller has been a member and a supporter of Washington National Cathedral for many years. She is married to former West Virginia Senator John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV. They have four children and seven grandchildren. Their children are graduates of Beauvoir, the National Cathedral School, and St. Albans School. |
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Transcript |
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Finding Aid | |
Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/th353fd3024 |
Location | SC1355 |
Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- 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).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
John W. Gardner Legacy Oral History Project
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