Page 8 - Priorities #32 2005-November

Bill Roberts Brings Global Expertise To Priory Construction
Projects
Schools: BS, Structural Engineering, Purdue University MBA, Northwestern University Lives in Burlingame, CA
Profession: Global real estate manager at Hewlett-Packard
Family: Gail (wife)—Cole (13) and Sarah (9) Trustee committee assignments: Executive, Real Estate (chair) and Committee on Trustees (composed of the chairs of all eight committees) Activities: cycling in Switzerland and the Bay area, hiking, backpacking, golf, woodworking
Meet new trustees Kari Rust, Mark Wilson,
Patti Plummer, Henry (Hank) Plain, Jr. and Susan Hafleigh at www.woodsidepriory.com. Click on ‘What’s New?”
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Trustee Bill Roberts grew up with the smell of sawdust. His father was a talented woodworker,
a skill he taught his son from a young age. Mr. Roberts—who is global real estate manager for Hewlett-Packard—to this day makes furniture, jewelry boxes, and other items, both small and large, whenever he has the chance. He says he values the opportunity to form an idea, design it, and turn the piece into a practical reality.
Everyone in his family joins in on the creative process. His son, Cole, who is an eighth-grader at the Priory, designs and builds all kinds of mechanical devices and vehicles with his father. Bill’s nine-year-old daughter, Sarah, loves art and drawing. His wife, Gail, also enjoys the building process, designing and overseeing both their kitchen and landscaping remodel projects.
Mr. Roberts’ woodworking interests are reflected on a larger scale in his professional life.
After studying structural engineering at Purdue, Bill pursued an MBA at Northwestern University. His professional career blends the two, combining building design and implementation within a business environment. A particular challenge of working at Hewlett-Packard is “matching the right real estate strategy with different and changing business needs.”
At the Priory, Mr. Roberts faces a similar challenge with the Performing Arts Center—taking on a significant construction project within a school environment. Part of the attraction of the project, Bill says, is “the opportunity to work with highly qualified and creative people whose backgrounds and perspectives are very different” from those he normally encounters on a project. He brings a critical component to the Priory group—his expertise in managing a project of the magnitude of the Performing Arts Center.
Mr. Roberts’ understanding of how large projects get put together—acquiring the appropriate architects and builder, coming to a consensus within the neighborhood community, and seeing
all done in the most cost-effective way possible—is turning an important educational goal into a reality.
The new Performing Arts Center auditorium and classrooms will make the Priory a more effective place for teaching and learning, Bill believes, offering a facility with professional amenities for a full range of study and performance. “The performing arts program at the Priory deserves a much better facility” than currently exist in the Assembly Hall, he says. He has observed first-hand; son Cole has taken parts in drama productions throughout Middle School.
Being a Priory trustee is a great opportunity to get involved, says Mr. Roberts. His work for the school is “very stimulating,” and he finds the mission and dedication of the Priory community appealing. Mr. Roberts says he was attracted to the Priory because it emphasizes a balance of rigorous academics, strong moral guidance, and social integration. He enjoys the commitment of the monks, faculty, and administration to a standard of excellence in all parts of a student’s life, he says. Students are truly grounded in a supportive community, an aspect of Priory life that Bill finds particularly important.
Besides woodworking, real estate management, and being a Trustee at the Priory, Mr. Roberts
also enjoys cycling, hiking, backpacking, and an occasional round of golf.
Trustee Profile
—D. Coats