After more than nine years of faithful service, Col Robert “Bob” Stratton retired this summer from his position as Vice President of the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation. Through his dedicated service, Bob helped shape and position the Foundation for a long and very successful future.

Bob’s military career began with his graduation from the US Air Force Academy in 1973, after which he served both as a T-38 instructor pilot and F-15 pilot. He was selected as a member of the Olmsted Scholar Class of 1981 and studied at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg, Germany. While studying in Freiburg, Bob not only immersed himself in the culture and excelled as a Scholar, he also met his future wife of 35 years, Patty. Following the Olmsted Scholar Program, Bob went on to the JFK School of Government at Harvard University where he earned a Masters in Public Administration. He then returned to flying the F-15 Eagle at Soesterberg in the Netherlands.

As a senior leader in the military, Bob served in a variety of critical positions at Headquarters USAF, with the US delegation to the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty negotiations, as Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Germany, on the Joint Staff and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He retired from active duty in 2002 and joined the Foundation staff as Vice President in 2009 after working as an executive in the defense industry.
While serving on the Foundation staff, Bob proved himself to be a dedicated and enthusiastic supporter of the Olmsted Scholar Program. Perhaps his most indelible mark on the Foundation was the way he always sought to connect in a personal way with as many Scholars as possible. Both he and Patty always made mentorship of Scholars a top priority, and they visited, advised and nurtured many Scholars over the years. Bob also managed the Olmsted Foundation’s undergraduate cultural immersion programs, the Foundation’s support for student conferences at the US Military Academy, the US Air Force Academy, and the US Naval Academy, and its wider outreach programs. In addition, he built many of the systems that keep the Olmsted Scholar community connected so effectively. The Olmsted Foundation is far better off because of the dedicated service and commitment of this exceptional Scholar who worked tirelessly to support both the Olmsted Scholar Program and his family.