Donna Robertson, a longtime staff member who helped host countless donors and dignitaries on campus throughout the course of four presidencies, died on April 13 following a long illness. She was 82.

During a career with the Office of Development that spanned more than 30 years, Donna built and directed a top-tier donor events program that helped Stanford celebrate, engage, and recognize its alumni and friends. She was known for creating unique fundraising and stewardship events both on and off campus, organizing presidential functions, and producing highly creative and personalized gifts for donors.

John L. Hennessy, who served as university president from 2000 to 2016, worked closely with Donna throughout his tenure.

“Everybody loved Donna – staff, faculty, alumni, and Stanford friends. When Donna planned an event, she wanted to be sure that the experience would be memorable for everyone. She was truly dedicated to Stanford and that was evident in everything she did,” said Hennessy, who is now the Shriram Family Director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program and the James F. and Mary Lynn Gibbons Professor in the School of Engineering.

From calligrapher to Stanford donor relations director

Donna arrived in Palo Alto in 1965 as a newlywed, when her husband, Channing Robertson, MS ’68, PhD ’70, began his graduate studies at Stanford. She taught grade school in San Carlos. After Channing became a member of the Stanford faculty, the couple built a house on the Stanford campus and raised their family there.

Donna’s career path to the Office of Development was unconventional. She had been practicing calligraphy as a hobby when she and her husband, then a young Stanford professor, were invited to a dinner at Hoover House, the official home of Stanford presidents. Underwhelmed by the name tags on the reception table, she offered her calligraphy services, saying, “I could help you make them look a lot better.”

Days later, she was tasked with beautifying not only name tags but also place cards, invitations, and other needs for development-related events, unofficially marking the beginning of her tenure. Within months, Donna’s responsibilities grew to include overseeing catering and other event logistics for the reception celebrating the 1980 inauguration of Stanford President Donald Kennedy.

Donna at the 1983 dedication of the Stanford Clock Tower. | Courtesy Channning Robertson

During the Centennial Campaign, a comprehensive fundraising effort that ran from 1987 to 1992 honoring the university’s 100th anniversary, Donna was a key member of the group that traveled to 10 cities to host a series of dinners for Stanford alumni and friends. It was the first time the university had held large, multifaceted events away from campus.

Donna’s thoughtfulness and grace made an impression on many, including Peter Bing, ’55, longtime Stanford volunteer and philanthropist, and his wife, Helen.

“Helen and I always felt honored to work with Donna for many years when she was the linchpin of the Office of Development,” said Bing, who served as a member of the Board of Trustees for more than 30 years, including a term as board chair. “Over time, she also became a cherished personal friend. Donna embodied the spirit of Stanford in everything she did. It was that spirit that transformed into beauty incarnate and, as a happy consequence, we will always be suffused with her golden light.”

At the conclusion of the Centennial Campaign, Donna was named director of donor relations – a team that today is known as development events. For the following three decades, four Stanford presidents would count on Donna and her team to produce events of all sizes for the university’s alumni and friends.

“Especially for a new president, Donna’s sense of what was important and appropriate was indispensable,” said Gerhard Casper, who served as Stanford president from 1992 to 2000. “I relied on her advice throughout my presidency and could not have done without her.”

Creating memorable moments

Over the years, Donna had occasion to meet visiting dignitaries – sometimes in less-than-ideal circumstances, but always with a sense of humor. In an oral history recorded in 2023, she remembered transporting Supreme Court Justice and Commencement speaker Stephen Breyer, ’59, from the stadium to Hoover Tower for a small lunch hosted by Casper. Their golf cart stalled on a bollard mid-trip, at which point she turned to Justice Breyer and said, “Well, how are your shoes, because this thing ain’t goin’ anywhere!”

When Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Stanford in 1983, it was Donna who prepared the seating and place cards for the lunch in their honor at Hoover House. Last-minute changes to the guest list meant that she was darting in and out of the dining room making corrections throughout the day. At one point, she caught sight of the queen, the prince, and their entourage on the back patio watching the Stanford band perform “All Right Now.”

“I thought of all the bands in Britain in all those uniforms … and our guys are out there in those red jackets and white hats. And I’m thinking, ‘What must she think?’”

Donna enjoyed creating imaginative and highly personalized gifts to mark important occasions for Stanford’s volunteer leaders. To celebrate a milestone birthday of the late real estate developer and Stanford philanthropist John Arrillaga, ’60, she commissioned a replica of the jumbotron suspended above the floor of Maples Pavilion – where Arrillaga had played basketball as a Stanford student. He displayed it proudly for years.

“Being part of the fundraising cause for Stanford always felt good to me,” she reflected in her oral history. “I was proud to be part of such a fine university.”

Donna and her team at the 2005 Dinner on the Quad, a signature event of Stanford Reunion Homecoming Weekend. | Steve Castillo

At the launch of The Stanford Challenge, the university’s fundraising campaign that ran from 2006 through 2011, Donna selected Frost Amphitheater as the location of a celebratory dinner for 500 people – a choice that came with its share of logistical challenges. Donna was undaunted, bringing in a team of skilled vendors and partners, draping red blankets over each chair to keep guests warm in the October evening air, and illuminating a giant “TSC” banner in red light at the center of the bowl to transform a complex venue into a stunning and memorable setting.

Donna snuck away briefly during dinner service to take it all in. “I looked down at this lively party with all the red, because the blankets showed up so well, just glowing in the middle of this bowl. It was a beautiful sight. It was definitely my favorite event I ever did.”

“Donna led with grace, humility, and, most of all, with her heart,” said Margarita Vallin, ’96, who was hired by and worked with Donna for nearly two decades and today is in her role as director. “She created an environment of excellence where her team felt supported and inspired and also had a lot of fun. Donna was more than a manager – her team affectionately nicknamed her ‘Mama Duck,’ a reflection of the trust, admiration, and love she fostered. She left a lasting impact on all of us and will never be forgotten.”

Donna is survived by her husband, Channing Robertson, professor emeritus of chemical engineering at Stanford; two children, Jodie Craig (Ryan Craig, ’97, MSM ’06) and Jesse Robertson (Stacey Morgan); and four grandchildren, Finley, Jensen, Brighton, and Vail.