Robert Wilson ’53

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Robert Wilson graduated from UCLA in 1953 with a degree in business administration. Although the award goes to Bob, it’s really a family effort, as his volunteer and philanthropic support to UCLA is in partnership with his wife, Marion. Both are graduates of UCLA and are proud of the fact that their five sons were born at the UCLA Medical Center.

Together, the Wilsons are actively involved in a variety of UCLA programs. Bob served as president of the UCLA Foundation from 1992 to 1994 and as its chairman from 1994 to 1996. A 1995 gift funded construction of the Marion and Robert S. Wilson Medical Student Center.

Currently, Bob serves as the chair of Campaign UCLA, a $2.4 billion fund-raising effort, which is the most ambitious campaign in the history of public higher education. The Wilsons’ leadership gift to Campaign UCLA benefits the School of Dentistry, the College of Letters and Science, and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Bob’s association with the School of Dentistry began in the 1980s when he spearheaded a fund-raising driving that enabled construction of the Wilson-Jennings-Bloomfield UCLA Venice Dental Center. A portion of their gift to UCLA will be used for expansion of the center, which provides low-cost dental care to underserved communities. The plaza at the base of the Janss Steps, formerly called Janss Plaza, has been renamed Wilson Plaza in honor of the Wilsons’ philanthropy and their devotion to the betterment of UCLA. Bob and Marion were honored in March by being named Fellows of the College of Letters and Science.

Bob also conceived and chaired the “Four Deep” program to endow athletic scholarships for all positions on the UCLA Football team.

Bob explains that “being an alumnus of UCLA carries with it the experience of a university whose effect on our community, nation and world is almost without precedent. It is for this reason that any act of involvement and giving offers a level of excitement and satisfaction that benefits both the University and those of us who are graduates.”