The Board of Directors
The Robertson Scholars Board of Directors meets periodically to review policies, procedures, programs and budgets. It also interacts with the University Coordinating Committee and the Scholars and enlists the support of alumni and others to further the program's goals.
Current members are:
Duke University President, Dr. Richard Brodhead
Richard Brodhead became Duke University's ninth president after serving as Dean of Yale College and Professor of English at Yale University since 1972. He earned three degrees from Yale. He received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude with exceptional distinction in English in 1968, followed two years later by a master's degree and then, in 1972, by a Ph.D. in English. He joined Yale's faculty as an assistant professor of English the same year. He was appointed Professor of English in 1985. He served as chair of the English department for five years immediately before his selection as dean of Yale College.
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor, Dr. Holden Thorp
Holden Thorp, a Carolina alumnus and faculty member, took office July 1, 2008 as the University's 10th chancellor - a job he calls the best in American public higher education. A 1986 UNC graduate, Thorp is a native of Fayetteville, NC. He is a Kenan Professor and an award-winning teacher and researcher. Thorp led the College of Arts and Sciences from 2007-2008. He also chaired the nationally recognized department of chemistry, where he has been a full professor since 1999. From 2001 to 2005, Thorp directed the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, guiding efforts to expand the planetarium's original emphasis to become a comprehensive science education center for North Carolina. In that role, he increased public attendance by 40 percent and expanded the Planetarium's traditional focus to encompass new areas of science education. Thorp has published more than 130 scholarly articles on the electronic properties of DNA and RNA. He invented technology for electronic DNA chips that is the basis of 19 issued or pending U.S. patents.
Robertson Scholars Program Founder, Julian H. Robertson
Julian H. Robertson, Jr. is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tiger Management L.L.C. which he co-founded in May 1980. From initial capital of eight million dollars, Tiger eventually became the world's largest hedge fund with assets of over 21 billion dollars. Mr. Robertson graduated from the Episcopal High School in 1951 and the University of North Carolina in 1955. He then served as an officer in the U.S. Navy prior to joining Kidder Peabody in 1957 where he became a Director. In 1974, he became Chairman of the Board and CEO of Webster Management Corporation and served in that capacity until his departure in 1978. Mr. Robertson is currently on the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller University; member of the Board of Trustees of Environmental Defense; Vice Chairman and former President of the Board of Trustees of the Cancer Research Institute; member of the Board of Trustees of the Wildlife Conservation Society; member of the Board of Trustees of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine; member of the Executive Committee of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; and a member of the National Board of Advisors of the Children's Scholarship Fund. Julian is pictured here with his wife, Josie.
Dr. Aaron Stern
Dr. Aaron Stern was trained as a physician and educator. He accomplished his psychiatric training at Yale University and his training in Psychoanalytic Medicine at Columbia University where he attained professorial rank and was appointed a Training Analyst. He served as a member of the Committee on Professional Education of the American Psychoanalytic Association.
He also received a PhD from Columbia University where he focused his work upon the methodology of science and empirical studies of child development. Throughout his professional career, he worked concurrently within the disciplines of medicine and education. He was elected to the Center for Advanced Analytic Studies at Princeton and served as the Educational Consultant to the United States Committee for the United Nations. In addition to teaching psychoanalytic medicine at Columbia University, he was selected to teach Contemporary Civilization as a part of the core undergraduate curriculum at Columbia. He helped to develop the Code and Rating System of the Motion Picture Association of America and served as its Director. During his educational career, he was on the faculties of Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, University of California Los Angeles and Washington State University. He has written numerous scientific and educational papers and is the author of the book The Narcissistic American.
Growing out of his work as a management consultant, he joined Tiger Management in 1993. He served as a member of the Management Committee, Board of Directors and became the Chief Operating Officer in 2000.
He is presently a trustee of the Robertson Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of the Robertson Scholarship program.
President and CEO of the Robertson Foundation, Dr. John Hood
Dr. John Hood is President and CEO of the New York-based Robertson Foundation. He is also a director of BG Group plc and chairman of Matakina Ltd, a New Zealand registered medical imaging software venture.
Formerly, Dr Hood was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He was the first person in the institution's 900-year history to be elected to the Vice-Chancellorship from outside the University's current academic body. Before Oxford, Dr Hood was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland. Prior to his return to academia, Dr Hood spent 19 years with one of New Zealand's largest companies, Fletcher Challenge Ltd. He held a number of senior positions at the company.
Dr Hood has also been influential in the world of sport, having served in several positions of influence, particularly with respect to the sport of cricket.
Dr Hood took a BE and a PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of Auckland. He then came to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar to read for an MPhil in Management Studies.
