Alumni Spotlight: Mr. Robert Anderson
Mr. Robert Anderson (B.S. 1943) is an outstanding example of a Colorado State University mechanical engineering alumnus who has achieved noteworthy career successes and significantly impacted the educational experiences of past, current and future CSU engineering students.
Mr. Anderson was born in Columbus, Nebraska, in 1920 but later relocated to Los Angeles, California. As his high school graduation approached, he considered the offers for football scholarships he received from various universities and enthusiastically selected Colorado State University as the institution where he would earn his engineering degree.
When asked to share details of his time at CSU, Mr. Anderson noted that Dr. J.T. Strate, former head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, truly influenced his education. "Dr. Strate was an excellent professor," he shares, "and I owe an awful lot to him for what he taught me. Thermo Dynamics was an outstanding course and he was an outstanding professor." Mr. Anderson also recalled that during his junior and senior years he led the production of the annual musical. He joked, "As an engineer, I didn't know the first thing about producing musicals!" The events, however, were very successful and all funds raised were designated toward the purchase of war bonds, which benefited the war effort as well as the university.
During his senior year at CSU Mr. Anderson was elected Cadet Colonel of ROTC, and following his engineering education at Colorado State University he served as a captain in the United States Army Field Artillery from 1943 to 1946. He notes, "My experience in the ROTC prepared me to join the Army directly after graduation, which provided me with many advantages."
Mr. Anderson began working with Chrysler Corporation in 1946 as a graduate student in the Chrysler Institute of Engineering; he earned a master's degree in automotive engineering two years later. His positions at Chrysler included Vice President of manufacturing, Vice President of engineering and product planning, and General Manager of the Chrysler Plymouth division. He joined Rockwell International Corporation in 1968. He was named a corporate Executive Vice President in 1969, and elected President and Chief Operating Officer in 1970. He served as Rockwell's chairman and Chief Executive Officer before retiring in 1988. He is currently Chairman Emeritus.
Mr. Anderson has also served in leadership positions for numerous national and international organizations. As an example, in 1983 President Ronald Regan named Mr. Anderson to the Presidential Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, which was a panel of 21 labor and academic leaders who were charged with improving the nation's ability to compete in the world marketplace. In 1966, Colorado State University conferred on Mr. Anderson an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and named him the Honor Alumnus for the College of Engineering. In 1985 he received CSU's William E. Morgan Achievement Award.
In addition to being a financial supporter of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the College of Engineering, Mr. Anderson played an instrumental role in the establishment of the college's Rockwell/Anderson Assistant Professorship and the Anderson Computer Lab. When asked to describe the motivation behind his generous contributions, Mr. Anderson stated, "It's really about a feeling that I owe something back to the institution that helped me get to where I am. It's very important that we give something back to the places from which we've taken something out, places that have meant so much to our lives."
Mr. Anderson currently resides in California.