Page 12 - Priorities #16 2001-February

Bob Ward received a St. Benedict Medal from Headmaster Tim Molak (left) at the fall Appreciation Banquet.
Trustee Profile
Priory Trustee Bob Ward came west in search of opportunity in 1957, and the burgeoning Silicon Valley was the place to find it.
A Cleveland native and graduate of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Bob wanted to get involved in high tech. He came to California to head a division for Beckman Industries and spent the next 24 years working in the valley at Beckman, and then as president of both Ultek Corporation and Shafer Electronics.
It was a “wonderful and exciting time” to be working in high tech as the Silicon Valley developed and took shape, he said.
In 1981, at the age of 62, Bob launched an entirely new career in a different arena when he founded Ward Associates, which “helped unemployed professionals to become successfully re-employed.” In an era of downsizing and increasing job mobility, Ward Associates was hired by firms like Levi Strauss, Hewlett-Packard, and Bank of America.
“People who’ve lost their jobs are often in a state of shock at having to start all over again. Helping people to reassess their skills and to figure out what they’re really good at doing, and what they like doing, is an art form,” says Bob. He says he found the work tremendously rewarding.
Although Ward Associates wasn’t pioneers in the field, it was tremendously successful. The company eventually had offices in Seattle, Portland, Menlo Park and San Francisco and operated for 12 years until Bob was forced to give it up after a cardiac bypass in 1993.
The Priory has been lucky enough to benefit from Bob’s expertise on the board for the last six years. A friend and fellow Priory trustee told Bob about the Priory and its work. Interested, he agreed to serve and was elected to the board in 1996.
Bob believes corporate professionals have much to
Bob Ward
Lives in Portola Valley, CA Wife: Charlene
Family: five children, four grandchildren (interesting note: son David won an Oscar for the screenplay of “The Sting”) Favorite activities: woodworking, reading, walking in the “wonderful hills of Portola Valley” and playing tennis (temporarily postponed by knee replacement surgery). Professional field: Corporate technology then career re-entry WPS Board of Trustees Assignment: Development Committee.
offer educational boards at the level of daily services as well as in the bigger, long-term picture. The professionals’ experience enables them to assist operating management by “giving guidance and response to problems that arise,” as well the kind of economic expertise that schools can’t hire high-priced consultants to provide.
Bob sees many strengths at the Priory, including the excellent student/teacher ratio, the incredibly strong faculty and staff, the current popularity of the Priory’s program and the beautiful campus. He feels challenges that lie ahead include the need to find ways to provide faculty and staff with adequate compensation,
especially housing, in order to ensure that the Priory can both attract and keep excellent faculty. Bob also stresses the need to raise the necessary funds to maintain and improve the Priory’s existing facilities.
In addition to his work with the Priory, Bob is a trustee for CWRU and administers two endowment funds he founded at CWRU’s School of Engineering. The funds provide scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students in engineering at CWRU. Bob notes how crucial scholarship efforts are, especially for graduate students, who often leave school with debts as high as $100,000.
Perhaps closest to his heart these days, though, is his work at Priory and CWRU. Of Priory he says, “It’s a real labor of love. It’s fun! Somehow or other I feel a real kind of kinship with everyone at Priory. They’re good people and they’re really pursuing some worthwhile objectives. I really feel a part of it, even though I’m not a student or a member of the faculty. I feel as closely involved with it as you can get as a trustee.”
-LeeAnne McDermott
Bob believes corporate professionals have much to offer educational boards of trustees.
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