UC Center Honors Oscar Robertson with Lifetime Achievement Award

The Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Research at the University of Cincinnati will present Oscar Robertson the Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship at its tenth annual banquet on May 15, 2008. Robertson’s skills are well known on the court in a basketball uniform but are perhaps less well known off the court in a business suit.

Oscar Robertson (known as “The Big O”) is considered by many to be the greatest all-around player in the history of basketball. Robertson earned a degree in business (1960) while leading the UC Bearcats to the NCAA Final Four twice and earning national consensus Player of the Year honors all three years that he played college basketball. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Robertson "Player of the Century." After graduating from UC, Robertson went on to play professional basketball with the Cincinnati Royals and then the Milwaukee Bucks. He set records in the NBA that may never be broken and was voted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1979, in his first year of eligibility.

A powerhouse on the court, Robertson was also a basketball powerhouse off the court. His leadership in leading the National Basketball Players’ Association into free agency forever changed the business of professional sports. His voice is still heard in professional and collegiate sports. (Read “It's Time ‘One and Done’ Was Done” — An Op-Ed by Oscar Robertson from The New York Times June 28, 2007, edition.) However, outside of the basketball arena many people have not heard as much about his many accomplishments.

Oscar Robertson founded Orchem Corporation, in 1981 in Fairfield, Ohio. It is the leading minority-owned specialty chemicals manufacturer in the United States. Orchem provides cleaning and sanitizing chemicals to the food and beverage, institutional, industrial, residential, commercial and healthcare industries. Orchem has just introduced a line of enzyme-based, environmentally friendly cleaning products for the consumer market.

Oscar Robertson Solutions (“OR Solutions”) provides enterprise-wide document management and administration, print management, knowledge management, facilities management and staffing and operations management to a broad range of clients. Oscar Robertson Foods manufactures a fine line of processed meat products that it sells primarily to military bases, working through approved distributors.

“While most folks look at Mr. Robertson and see one of the all-time great basketball players, when I look at him, I see one of the all-time great entrepreneurs,” says Charles Matthews, executive director of UC’s E-Center. “As an athlete, he cannot be over-celebrated, but as an entrepreneur, for too long he has been under-celebrated.”

“On a personal note, I first met Mr. Robertson 25 years ago, at an event at Dr. Winkler's house. [Professor Henry Winkler is UC President Emeritus.] My wife and I were sitting at a table and Mr. Robertson and his wife came over and joined us. I remember him telling us about getting his then-fledgling business started and how excited he was. I have been following his entrepreneurial journey ever since. Twenty-five-plus years later, his entrepreneurial journey continues with his newest product, ‘Fade Away’ stain remover wipes.’”

In his nomination of Robertson, Matthews noted that the Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship is given “in recognition of the drive to high standards, dedication to a vision, determination to succeed, leadership in the community, and generosity in giving to others which has been consistently demonstrated throughout a lifetime of successful entrepreneurial pursuits.”

“Mr. Robertson is among the very few who fit this description to the letter,” Matthews added.

Watch the 2007 Commencement Video

A Tribute to Oscar Robertson on the UC Magazine page

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