Interview with CEC Trustee Bob Wilson '76
Interview with Cranbrook Educational Community trustee Bob Wilson '76. Bob is a multi-generational alumnus who, along with his wife and fellow CEC trustee Sandy Smith, has served the community in a multitude of ways over the years. In addition to his role as a CEC Trustee, Wilson is a Cranbrook Art Academy governor and a member of Cranbrook's Center for Collections and Research Committee.
FocusCK: Both your parents (Dad Erwin Wilson C’43 and mom Peggy Lind Klarr K’43) were alumni and your sons Andrew Wilson ‘12 and Michael Wilson ’16 are alumni. What observations do you have as the middle generation of a three generation Cranbrook family of Cranbrook “lifers”?
BW: Three different generations, but the continuity and quality of the education and shared deep reverence for the architecture and physical beauty of the Cranbrook campus have endured through multiple decades, wars and profound changes in American culture.
FocusCK: You received degrees from Denison, Indiana University, and got your J.D. from Boston College Law School. How did Cranbrook prepare you for higher education?
BW: I excelled as a writer at Cranbrook, in college and graduate school, and as an attorney, for which I give enormous credit to the Cranbrook English Department faculty, who were my friends and mentors. I was a very poor math student at Cranbrook, but in the end, never had to use algebra or calculus in my professional career!
FocusCK: At Cranbrook you were on the varsity soccer and track teams. What was it like cheering for your sons when they were playing sports at Cranbrook?
BW: Some of my fondest memories of Cranbrook were the times I spent on the lower fields and track in all kinds of inclement weather. By the time my sons played varsity hockey and lacrosse for Cranbrook, high school sports had evolved into something much more intense and serious. I am talking about year-round practicing, constant clinics, and private coaches. I loved watching my boys play, but as a former travel hockey coach have realized that many parents’ expectations about their sons or daughters becoming professional athletes are misplaced.
FocusCK: How did you get involved volunteering on campus?
BW: I joined the Academy and Museum Board of Governors in 2007 and subsequently joined the CEC Board of Trustees where I serve on a number of committees and chair the Collections Committee.
FocusCK: What are some highlights of your involvement on campus?
BW: A highlight of Sandy’s and my time at Cranbrook was receiving the President’s Award in 2016.
FocusCK: What are you looking forward to in 2025?
BW: As I look toward 2025, I am enormously enthusiastic, and optimistic about moving forward with a project with which I’ve been involved for approximately 10 years as a Task Force and Advisory Group member: the creation of the permanent location for the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research and Archives at Stonelea House. Sandy and I were fortunate enough to be involved with the selection of our top architects for this next important building on the Cranbrook campus and exploratory visits, including trip to London to meet Níall McLaughlin and his team in September of last year.
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BW: Three different generations, but the continuity and quality of the education and shared deep reverence for the architecture and physical beauty of the Cranbrook campus have endured through multiple decades, wars and profound changes in American culture.
FocusCK: You received degrees from Denison, Indiana University, and got your J.D. from Boston College Law School. How did Cranbrook prepare you for higher education?
BW: I excelled as a writer at Cranbrook, in college and graduate school, and as an attorney, for which I give enormous credit to the Cranbrook English Department faculty, who were my friends and mentors. I was a very poor math student at Cranbrook, but in the end, never had to use algebra or calculus in my professional career!
FocusCK: At Cranbrook you were on the varsity soccer and track teams. What was it like cheering for your sons when they were playing sports at Cranbrook?
BW: Some of my fondest memories of Cranbrook were the times I spent on the lower fields and track in all kinds of inclement weather. By the time my sons played varsity hockey and lacrosse for Cranbrook, high school sports had evolved into something much more intense and serious. I am talking about year-round practicing, constant clinics, and private coaches. I loved watching my boys play, but as a former travel hockey coach have realized that many parents’ expectations about their sons or daughters becoming professional athletes are misplaced.
FocusCK: How did you get involved volunteering on campus?
BW: I joined the Academy and Museum Board of Governors in 2007 and subsequently joined the CEC Board of Trustees where I serve on a number of committees and chair the Collections Committee.
FocusCK: What are some highlights of your involvement on campus?
BW: A highlight of Sandy’s and my time at Cranbrook was receiving the President’s Award in 2016.
FocusCK: What are you looking forward to in 2025?
BW: As I look toward 2025, I am enormously enthusiastic, and optimistic about moving forward with a project with which I’ve been involved for approximately 10 years as a Task Force and Advisory Group member: the creation of the permanent location for the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research and Archives at Stonelea House. Sandy and I were fortunate enough to be involved with the selection of our top architects for this next important building on the Cranbrook campus and exploratory visits, including trip to London to meet Níall McLaughlin and his team in September of last year.
Return to the main Alumni News page
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Bob Wilson '76
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Bob and Sandy with sons Andrew '12 and Michael '16
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