Josephine “Josie” Robertson, co-founder of the Robertson Scholars program and New York philanthropist, passed away June 8 after a long struggle with breast cancer at the age of 67.
Robertson started the program in 2000 when she and her husband Julian Robertson donated $24 million to unite Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with the scholarship.
The program awards a total of about 36 incoming freshmen—18 at both schools—full-ride scholarships covering tuition, room and board, summer stipends and other fees.
Jeanne Kirschner, Robertson Scholars program associate director for finance, administration and planning, said Robertson’s contribution was more than financial, noting that Josie Robertson was present at program events before she fell ill.
“This is a horrible circumstance for everyone involved, but we can still celebrate both her and Julian’s contribution to the Duke and UNC communities,” Kirschner said.
In addition to the Robertson Scholars program, Josie Robertson served on the board of the Boys’ Club of New York and was a director of the dropout prevention project, Classroom, Inc. In 1996, Robertson and her husband established the Robertson Foundation, which has assets exceeding $1 billion and provides grants to organizations concerning education, environment, medical research and religion and spirituality.
Alex Robertson, who is one of Josie Robertson’s three sons and a 2001 graduate of Carolina, said the Robertson Scholars program meant a lot to his mother. He added that his parents wanted to connect Duke and UNC with the program.
“They met some pretty amazing kids at both schools over the years,” Alex Robertson said. “It was a shame that at two great schools 10 miles apart, that nobody got to visit each other. They thought of a creative way to... bring both schools together.”
Alex Robertson added that his mother played an active role in improving the program’s Finalists’ Weekend, when scholarship finalists come to the area for interviews every Spring. He said she would sometimes travel with the scholars and invite them to New York.
“She would meet with the students and look at ways in which she could make the program stronger,” Alex Robertson said. “Our apartment in New York, she always opened it up to scholars.... She was just a selfless, gracious woman with a tremendous upbeat attitude.”
Mark Laabs, a former Robertson scholar and a 2006 graduate of Carolina, said both Josie and Julian Robertson served as his mentors, especially once he graduated. Laabs, a director of ClimateBridge, an international company dedicated to using low-carbon technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Josie Robertson made the program a tight-knit community.
“If there is anything that stood out, it was the fact that she was able to make people feel comfortable in circumstances even when they should have been stressed,” Laabs said. “Even as my distance from the program has gotten further, Julian and Josie have continued to be really important parts of my life, during really important turning points in it.”
Judith Ruderman, former Duke vice provost for academic and administrative services and a former member of the Robertson Committee, wrote in an e-mail that Josie Robertson was very active in the Robertson Scholars program, even if she was in the background more than her husband.
“Josie came to all the major functions and was proud of the scholars and the role she played in facilitating this unique venture,” Ruderman said. “She was a gracious and lovely woman in all senses. She fought her cancer valiantly and her death is a great loss to Julian and the rest of the family, to her friends, and to her associates like me.”
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