Jerald F. Robinson
Professor Emeritus
Email: jfr@vt.edu
Education
B.A., Southwestern at Memphis
M.A., Duke University
Ph.D., Illinois University
Biography
Jerald F. Robinson is a professor of International Management and Employment Relations and has served on the faculty since 1970. Previously he had taught at Furman University and the University of Missouri, Columbia, as well as spending two years as a research associate for the Brookings Institution. He has published papers in several academic journals, including Journal of Collective Negotiations, Journal of Industrial Relations, and the Proceedings of the IRRA. From 1970-76 he headed the University's Industrial Relations Extension Program. He is also a regular contributor to human resources, training and development and labor relations associations. He is a labor arbitrator and mediator and regularly speaks at labor and management conferences.
Robinson was inducted in 1979 as a member of the Virginia Tech Academy of Teaching Excellence and has received various teaching awards since then, the Pamplin Doctoral Teaching Awards and then the Pamplin College Teaching Award in 2002. He is a member of the University's Academy of Faculty Service. He served two terms as President of the University Faculty Senate in 1978-80. In the 1980s he also served two terms as Chairman of the Montgomery County School Board during his eight years on the Board.
He has been among the most active faculty in working with business in management development programs. At times he has been active also in State of Virginia public administration training and has received several grants to support that work. In the last 15 years his interests have turned international: he was the first faculty member to lead a Study Abroad program and in 1989 it was to China; he has led Study Abroad programs to Eastern and Central Europe since 1992; for eight years he has taken MBA students to formerly socialist Slovenia where the students act as consultants to emerging market drive firms; and he has taught at the VT Center in Switzerland for seven fall semesters. He has lectured on behalf the U.S. State Department in the Czech Republic, China, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Zambia. In addition he has spoken to private business groups in China, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland.