Robert Herbold (GRS ’66, mathematics; GRS ’68, computer science; HON ’20)

Alumnus Robert Herbold served as Microsoft's executive vice president and chief operating officer from 1994 until his retirement in 2001. 

He played an integral role in establishing the Department of Computer and Data Sciences at Case Western Reserve University as a member of the Case School of Engineering’s Silicon Valley Think Tank. 

In 2021, Herbold committed $2 million to establish the Robert J. Herbold Professorship of Transformative Teaching, the first endowed professorship in the school’s history designated explicitly for a faculty member who uses an imaginative and engaging approach to teaching. 

He is an honorary and emeritus trustee of Case Western Reserve.