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u University of California Berkeley REGIONAL ORAL HISTORY OFFICE Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California History of Bay Area Philanthropy Series Robert B. Shetterly EAST BAY EXPERIENCES IN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY With an Introduction by Eugene E. Trefethen, Jr. Interviews Conducted by Gabrielle Morris in 1990 Copyright fc\ 1991 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a modern research technique involving an interviewee and an informed interviewer in spontaneous conversation. The taped record is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The resulting manuscript is typed in final form, indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Robert B. Shetterly dated 8 February 1990. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Robert B. Shetterly requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Robert B. Shetterly, "East Bay Experiences in Corporate Social Responsibility," an oral history conducted in 1990 by Gabrielle Morris, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1991. Copy no . ROBERT B. SHETTERLY ca 1985 Cataloging Information SHETTERLY, Robert B. Businessman, philanthropist East Bay Experiences in Corporate Responsibility. 1991, xii, 172 pp. Former president and chief executive of Clorox Company discusses divestment from Procter & Gamble Corp., 1965, and company expansion and diversification in 1970s; affirmative action and social action in Oakland, California: creation of a company foundation, East Bay Youth Development Center, New Oakland Committee; comments on economic development, urban redevelopment, and public education; Mills College (trustee, chairman) 1971-1986; other East Bay philanthropic concerns. Introduction by E. E. Trefethen, Jr., president, Kaiser Companies, retired. Interviewed 1990 by Gabrielle Morris for the History of Bay Area Philanthropy Series. The Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. San Francisco Chronicle August 29, 1997 OBITUARIES Robert B. Shetterly Under his direction, Clorox ini Robert B. Shetterly, a former tiated a major diversification, ac chief executive officer of Clorox quiring such product lines as Pine- Co. and a community leader in Sol cleaner and Hidden Valley sal ad Oakland for many years, died Sat dressing. urday in Cambridge, Mass. Mr. Shetterly was a director of the former Crocker Mr. Shetterly, who had recent bank in San of the ly suffered a stroke, was 82. Francisco, president Eco nomic Development Corporation Born in Corning, N.Y., Mr. Shet in Oakland and board chairman of terly graduated from the Universi the Oakland City Center Hotel ty of Rochester and joined Procter Company. & Gamble in 1936, rising through the ranks of management in the He was the first chairman of the Oakland Council company's advertising depart for Economic ment. Development and served on the Economic Ad He was named manager of the city's Development Commission. Food Products Division and a visory Mr. member of the corporate Adminis Shetterly was also a board trative Committee at Procter & member of the United Way of the Gamble in 1961. Bay Area and a member of many other community and educational In 1965, Mr. Shetterly was bodies. named a vice president, general He was manager and director of Clorox, named manufacturer which was then a Procter & Gam of the year by the California Manu facturers' ble subsidiary. In 1968, he became Association in 1978. chief executive officer of Clorox. He is survived by his sons John The next year, the company was of Cambridge, Robert Jr. of Brook- divested by Procter & Gamble, but ville, Maine, and Thomas of Wal he was retained as CEO. nut Creek. TABLE OF CONTENTS --Robert B. Shetterly SERIES PREFACE i INTRODUCTION by Eugene E. Trefethen vii INTERVIEW HISTORY ix BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES xi I PERSONAL TURNING POINTS 1 Son Jay and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 1 1964 Son Robbie and the Earl Paltenghi Youth Center, 1965 4 Early San Francisco Fundraising Experience 6 II GENERAL MANAGER, PRESIDENT, AND CHAIRMAN OF THE CLOROX 9 COMPANY, 1965-1982 Obligation to Oakland 9 Divestment from Procter & Gamble 9 Black-White Dialogue; New Oakland Committee 11 Council of Social Planning Trustees, 1970s 12 Company Expansion; Liberal Young Managers 14 Community Involvement 16 III SOCIAL CONCERNS; CORPORATE AND PERSONAL 19 Clorox Contributions Budget; Industry Standards 19 Evaluating United Crusade Giving Patterns Funding New Organizations; Council of Social Planning 22 Functions Establishing a Company Community Affairs Section, 1972 24 Finding a Project for Clorox to Sponsor 25 IV EAST OAKLAND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTER 27 Marketing the Building Project 27 Job Opportunities for Youth (JOY) Project 29 NIH (Not Invented Here) Problem 34 V WORLD WAR II ARMY EXPERIENCES: BOB McNAMARA'S STATISTICAL 37 CONTROL INNOVATIONS VI CLOROX COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 43 Affirmative Action Plan 43 Corporate Giving Programs: IX -2Z Industry Standard 46 Gifts to United Way and Black United Fund 48 VII CLOROX COMPANY FOUNDATION 54 Organization 54 Youth Center Foundation: Separate Fundraising and 56 Program Operation Other Philanthropic and Business Leadership; Bay Area 58 Council Giving in Headquarters vis-a-vis Other Company Communities 61 Further Experiences with Fundraising and Foundations 63 VIII WORKING TO IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION 68 Explaining Business Principles to Teenagers 68 Clorox Adopts Castlemont High School 69 Need for Job Skills 72 IX ENCOURAGING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 74 Oakland City Center Project; Clorox World Headquarters 74 Developer and Consumer Attitudes 76 Shetterly Chairs Oakland Council for Economic Development 79 Completion of the Grove -Shafter Freeway: The Governor and 80 the Black Panthers Affirmative Action Issues 84 Creating an Economic Development Corporation: Need for 84 Public-Private Partnership A Dubious Joint Venture Proposal 88 EDCO Deactivated 90 Business Community Support 92 X IMPACT OF CORPORATE CHANGES ON GIVING PATTERNS 95 XI MILLS COLLEGE TRUSTEE, 1971-1986 99 Recruited by Gene Trefethen; A Mills-Kaiser-Clorox 99 Connection Benefits of Being a Women's College 101 Board Involvement; Financial Aid Study: Merit vs. Need 102 Student Body Size and Cash Flow 103 Restoring Merit Scholarships 104 Selecting Mary Metz as President 107 Student Activism 111 Capital Fund Needs 113 Endowment Goals: Faculty Support and Student Aid 114 Fundraising Successes 116 Operating Budget; Alumnae Support 118 Curriculum Concerns 120 Trustee Chairman, 1980-1986; Successor Warren Hellman 121 Trustee Selection and Board Diversity 123 XII CONCLUDING THOUGHTS: AN OVERVIEW OF EAST BAY CONCERNS 128 Youth Development Center Revisited: Private Sector Jobs 128 for Youth Children's Hospital of the East Bay Building Program 131 Fundraising Techniques 132 Further Reflections on Oakland Schools: Sustaining Change 134 Seeking and Electing Better School Board Members 135 Attempts at Institutional Change 140 Political Obstacles and Maneuvers 144 Oakland Museum and Symphony 146 More on Mills 148 TAPE GUIDE 152 APPENDICES 153 A. R. B. Shetterly remarks, Western Regional Conference of 154 United Community Funds and Councils, Santa Barbara, April 17, 1969.' B. R. B. Shetterly speech, Managing Affirmative Action, 158 Claremont Hotel, April 2, 1975. C. Additional Materials in The Bancroft Library. 166 D. "Clorox's Program," Oakland Tribune. January 18, 1976. 167 E. "Shetterly Cites," Oakland Tribune. April 12, 1978. 168 INDEX 169 PREFACE Northern California Grantmakers and the Regional Oral History Office of The Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley are pleased to present this series of oral histories documenting the growth and development of Bay Area philanthropy during the last twenty-five years. It is our hope that these memoirs will both preserve a record of the experiences and philosophies of selected senior members of the philanthropic