When people think of Clarence J. Robinson and his legacy at 亚洲AV, they often think of his $5 million bequest to the university on his death in 1983, the largest gift the young university had ever received, and the things the university was able to do with that money. But Robinson鈥檚 true legacy goes far beyond a monetary contribution and hinges on a conversation and a single piece of advice: 鈥淚f you get the people first, the bricks and mortar will follow.鈥
George Johnson, Mason president from 1978 to 1996, took that conversation to heart and used those words to build not only the well-regarded Robinson Professors program, but also a university of national stature.
鈥淗e was adamant that if you concentrated on just building, you would end up with empty halls,鈥 says Johnson of the late Northern Virginia businessman. 鈥淗e felt it was more important to get quality people first.鈥
Created in 1984, the embodies Mason's commitment to making high-quality education accessible to undergraduate students. Established through a bequest from the late Clarence J. Robinson, the program attracts preeminent academics and award-winning scholars dedicated to teaching undergraduates.
A 1985 article in George Mason magazine has it took Johnson and a review committee seven months to find the first three Robinson Professor, which they hired from a pool of 250. They were: philosophy professor Thelma Lavine, Latin American scholar Roberto M谩rquez, and Middle East historian Shaul Bakhash.
Pictured here is many of the Robinson Professors with Johnson in 1995.
Photo credit: University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center, .