Robert Skotheim

Robert Allen Skotheim (born January 31, 1933)[1] is an American educator who has served as president of several colleges and institutions.

Robert Skotheim
14th President of Occidental College
In office
2008–2009
Preceded bySusan Westerberg Prager
Succeeded byJonathan Veitch
10th President of Whitman College
In office
1975–1988
Preceded byDonald Sheehan
Succeeded byDavid Evans Maxwell
Personal details
Born (1933-01-31) January 31, 1933
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Spouse
Nadine Esther Vail
​
(m. 1953)​
Children3
Alma materPrinceton University
University of Washington (B.A., Ph.D.)
OccupationCollege professor and administrator
Known forHistorian of intellectual history

Biography

In 1933, Skotheim was born to Sivert O., an emigrant from Norway, and Marjorie Skotheim, school teachers in West Seattle.[2] He attended Fauntleroy School and West Seattle High School.[3] He was educated at Princeton University, graduated with a B.A. in history from the University of Washington, and went on to obtain a Ph.D. from University of Washington Graduate School.[4] In 1966, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and spent a year in France. Afterwards, he taught history at the University of Colorado, Boulder and then became provost of Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, New York.[5]

From 1975 to 1988, he served as the 10th president of Whitman College, where he led a $50 million capital campaign to increase the endowment and researched the history of the college.[6][7][8][9] In 1988, after 12 years at Whitman, he became president at the Huntington Library.[10] In June 1992, he announced a $4.5 million gift to the library endowment.[11] On June 30, 2001, he stepped down from the Huntington.[12]

On January 1, 2008, Skotheim assumed the role of interim president of Occidental College, replacing president Susan Westerberg Prager, who announced her intention to resign in mid-November.[13][14] During his tenure, Skotheim was one of the oldest college presidents in the nation. On July 1, 2009, Skotheim stepped down and Jonathan Veitch, formerly dean of Eugene Lang College, took the reins.[15]

Honors and legacy

The Nadine and Robert Skotheim Director of Education at The Huntington is endowed in his honor.[16][17]

Personal life

On June 14, 1953, Skotheim married Nadine Esther Vail, in Seattle, Washington, and they had three children: Marjorie, Kris and Julie.[18]

Awards

In 2000, Skotheim was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from Whittier College.[19]

References
  1. The International Who's Who 2004
  2. "In Memory". Columns Magazine. University of Washington. December 2002. Retrieved September 29, 2017. Marjorie Skotheim, '57, Seattle, age 90, died Aug. 9, 2002.
  3. "West Seattle High School and Fauntleroy Schoolhouse". LogHouseMuseum.org. West Seattle Historical Society. June 18, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  4. "100 Alumni of the Century". Columns Magazine. University of Washington. December 1999. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  5. "40 Years: Women's Studies". Pulteney Street Survey. Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Winter 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2017. it was the early 1970s when...Provost Robert Skotheim turned a critical eye on the Hobart and William Smith curriculum
  6. "History of the College". Whitman College. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  7. Weinman, Edward (June 19, 2013). "The Interview: Robert Skotheim". Whitman College. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  8. "Obituary: Edward E. Foster". Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. July 6, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  9. Eveland, Annie Charnley (August 14, 2016). "Research underway for third volume of Whitman College history". Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  10. Muchnic, Suzanne (January 30, 1988). "Skotheim to Direct Huntington Complex". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  11. Snow, Shauna (June 2, 1992). "Two Foundations Give $4.5 Million to Huntington". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  12. "Huntington Library Chief Announces Retirement". Los Angeles Times. June 29, 2000. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  13. Gordon, Larry (December 20, 2007). "Occidental names interim president". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  14. Gordon, Larry (February 11, 2008). "Hoping to span eras at Oxy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  15. Schryver, Thomas (June 30, 2009). "From The Big Apple to The City of Angels". Occidental College. Occidental Weekly. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  16. Lee, Stacy (September 14, 2015). "San Marino Unified School District, The Huntington Collaborate on Humanities Class". San Marino Tribune. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  17. Rhine, Traude Gomez (February 23, 2016). "Meet Catherine Allgor, Ph.D." San Marino Tribune. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  18. "Whitman Installs 13th President" (PDF). Whitman College. Whitman Magazine. December 2005. p. 13. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  19. "Honorary Degrees | Whittier College". www.whittier.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-13.

Selected publications

Books

Articles
  • Skotheim, Robert A.; Vanderbilt, Kermit (Summer 1962). "Vernon Louis Parrington: The Mind and Art of a Historian of Ideas". Pacific Northwest Quarterly. 53 (3): 100–113. JSTOR 40487742.

Video
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