Melody S. Robidoux

Doctor of Humane Letters
College of Social Behavioral Sciences
Robidoux

Melody S. Robidoux, an Arizona native, graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in political science (1980) and a J.D. from the James E. Rogers College of Law (1983). She was chosen as the 2014 Alumna of the Year by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and is recognized in the Women’s Plaza of Honor on campus.

In the late 1980s, Robidoux was co-owner and CEO of a Tucsonbased global technology company, where she helped drive and manage its spectacular growth. In 1990, Robidoux sold her interest in the company and founded the Melody S. Robidoux Foundation, which for 30 years has provided grants to support equity, education, and healthcare for woman and children; civics education and adolescent mental health; as well as supporting organizations including the University of Arizona, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and many other nonprofits in Tucson and the Seattle areas.

In 1992, Robidoux co-founded the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona to foster equity and opportunity for women and girls. She has been a major donor to that foundation since its inception.

In her long history of giving to the University, Robidoux endowed the Robidoux Foundation Student Travel Endowment in the School of Government and Public Policy; a history scholarship honoring retired University Distinguished Professor Richard Cosgrove; and a Master Teacher Endowment in the Fred Fox School of Music. In addition, she provided a grant to renovate a space in the Social Sciences building, which is now named the Melody S. Robidoux Foundation Civil Engagement Room.

Over the last several years, she funded the Melody S. Robidoux Foundation Fund Chair in the School of Government and Public Policy and, recently, the Melody S. Robidoux Foundation Fund Professorships, also in the School of Government and Public Policy.

She is a longtime funder of the Magellan Circle – the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences donor society – and also supports the James E. Rogers College of Law, which received a major gift from Robidoux for its capital campaign.