Robert J. Stanzione ’69

Robert J. Stanzione ’69 Receives the 2023 Distinguished Service Award

Industry pioneer. Selfless philanthropist. Passionate Clemson supporter.

Robert (Bob) Stanzione developed an interest in math and science as a high school student in his hometown of Hartsville. For college, he chose Clemson because he thought it would be the right fit for pursuing those subjects. He graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and more than 50 years later, Bob and Clemson continue to be the right fit for making a positive difference in the world.

During his early professional career, Bob held a range of engineering and management positions at AT&T. In 1995, he was appointed president and CEO of ARRIS Interactive, a Nortel Networks/ANTEC joint venture. He grew the start-up company into a world market leader in cable networking products. In 1998, he became president, chief operating officer and a director of ANTEC and was appointed CEO in 2000.

In 2001, ANTEC acquired Nortel’s share of ARRIS Interactive and re-named the company ARRIS Group. Bob served as ARRIS Group’s CEO until September 1, 2016, when he became its executive chairman and chairman of the board of directors. ARRIS Group was sold in 2019 for $7 billion. Bob retired from the company but remains active in managing his family’s farm and private investments.

Bob sits on The Cable Center Board of Directors’ executive committee and is a former trustee on the Committee for Economic Development in Washington, D.C. He was inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers in 2010 and is a member of the Class of 2016 Cable Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers’ 2008 Chairman’s Award and the 2009 Vanguard Award for Associates and Affiliates, which recognizes important contributions made by equipment manufacturers and service suppliers to cable industry innovation. He is a past board member of both the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and Symmetricom, a developer and manufacturer of timekeeping technology.

In addition to his Clemson degree, Bob earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering (MIE) from North Carolina State University. He also has completed executive development programs at the University of Richmond, Babson College and the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.

Bob and his wife, Kaye, live in Alpharetta, Georgia, where they are active in many organizations and causes. He has served on the board of directors of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Georgia chapter and chaired its major gifts fundraising campaign. He recently received the chapter’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He also has engaged with St. Jude’s Children Hospital as a fundraiser and has been a scholarship sponsor for Cristo Rey High School.

The ClemsonLIFE program is of special interest to Bob and Kaye, who serves on the program’s advisory board. The Sue Stanzione Distinguished Professorship for ClemsonLIFE, established with a gift from the Stanziones, has been instrumental in the development and retention of leadership for the program and under-girded its significant growth.

The Stanziones also have made a $2.5 million Academic Cornerstone gift to Clemson’s College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. The gift includes support for student scholarships, the Dean’s Excellence Fund and new faculty incentives and learning experiences in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Since joining the Clemson University Foundation’s board of directors in 2017, Bob has served on the Executive, Investment, Finance and Development committees. He also has been instrumental in the board’s restructuring and with the newly established Order of the Oak fundraising advisory board.

Bob and Kaye have three children. Daughters Marie Stanzione Anderson ’93 and Jennifer Stanzione Hanson are Clemson graduates. Son Robert Jr. (Bobby) attended Clemson before graduating from the University of South Carolina at Beaufort. Three of their 12 grandchildren – Emma, Owen and Alex – are current Clemson students.

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