Robert E. Mortensen

Robert E. Mortensen has distinguished himself not only in his military career but also in his business and humanitarian activities. After graduating from Rutgers, where he was a member of Air Force ROTC, he served in Vietnam as an intelligence briefing officer to General William Westmoreland. He received the Bronze Star for his Vietnam service and the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal for Pentagon service. Mortensen retired from the Active Reserves following the Persian Gulf War. For 30 years, he worked for Conrail, ultimately as president and chair of the board of Merchants Despatch Transportation Corp., a subsidiary of the railway. He then became a managing director for Africa of Railway Development Corp., which specializes in the privatization of third-world government-owned railways. In 2002, Mortensen was tapped by the United Nations to coordinate transportation activities in support of famine relief efforts in East Africa. He has also devoted much talent and energy to various programs at Rutgers, including serving as chair of the Mason Gross School of the Arts Leadership Council and the Glee Club Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the President’s Council and the Board of Trustees.