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]
^"In Memory". Columns Magazine. University of Washington. December 2002. Retrieved September 29, 2017. Marjorie Skotheim, '57, Seattle, age 90, died Aug. 9, 2002.
^"100 Alumni of the Century". Columns Magazine. University of Washington. December 1999. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
^"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
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. JSTOR40487742.
