ROCHESTER, Mich. — Robert Skinner, a member of the Oakland University men's basketball program from 1982-86, is currently in his second stint as the Director of the United Nations Information Center in Washington, D.C. The four-year letterman ranks eighth in school history in career assists (374) and was on the team during head coach
Greg Kampe's first-ever season at OU in 1984. Since graduating from Oakland in 1986, Skinner has obtained a law degree and spent over 23 years in foreign affairs, including the last 15 with the United Nations. Read what Skinner had to say about his time in Rochester, how he got into a diplomatic career, and his roles with the UN.Â
Going back to your time at Oakland. What initially led you to attend OU?
I am originally from Michigan. I grew up in Bay City and went to high school at Essexville Garber back many years ago. Oakland seemed like the right fit for me when it came to basketball, academics, and location. While some folks around Oakland may find it hard to believe, there was actually a basketball coach before
Greg Kampe, as I was brought in by former head basketball coach Lee Frederick. He was my coach for my first two years at Oakland, followed by Kampe for my junior and senior seasons. It all worked out well at the end, which furthered the realization that Oakland was the perfect place for me.
As one of the very few players to play under both coaches, did you notice a different coaching style between the two?
It was a complete change in style. When I think back on it, it is one of those things that helped me in the long run. There were significant changes in the style of play, demeanor, and philosophy, which helped me throughout my life. At least in my career, I am constantly dealing with change. I have had different bosses, roles, challenges, and opportunities. The first coaching change helped me realize how life can be at times. There will always be change, but most importantly, you have to be ready and adapt to the change.
In case you were not aware, you still rank top-10 in school history in career assists. Is that something you tend to brag about with co-workers?
That will occasionally come up. To be honest, I was not sure if my name was still in the top-10. With the school's change from Division II to Division I, I did not know if the statistics were different in the record book. Oakland has gotten to be more recognizable since transitioning into Division I. When people ask where I went to college and what I was involved in, it is nice to say that I played at Oakland. Now that I know I am still in the top-10, I can talk about how I put up some decent stats, and my name is still somewhere in the records.
Would you say that playing at Oakland helped you advance in your current career path?
I think any sport, especially basketball, is beneficial because of the team nature. You have to deal with different personalities, disappointment, and even success. You have to be able to wake up the following day with whatever comes at you and go forward. Playing basketball helped that. Unfortunately, there was probably a little more disappointment in the results while I was on the team, but you find a way to go forward, as I just said. I find that people who have played sports or been involved in athletics recognize that you cannot dwell on the last disappointment. Instead, they continue to find a way to look for success.Â
After graduating from Oakland in 1986, what was next for you?
After Oakland, I spent a year as a graduate assistant under coach Kampe. Then, I went to work in Milwaukee for a sports tourism organization under my former coach Lee Frederick. That was one of the first experiences that opened my eyes to the world. It was an organization that arranged international travel for sports teams, primarily basketball. I had the chance to see all over the world during those years, but eventually, I went to law school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, which was also a great experience. Later on, I became a public defender in Chicago practicing criminal law for about three years. I certainly learned many lessons through that, which directed me toward my current career in international affairs.Â
When you began your diplomatic career, did you envision yourself staying in it for decades or think it would be more of a short-term stint instead?
I took the foreign service exam thinking that it would be an interesting career that could allow me to live overseas. However, I did not know much about it at the time. I went into this career with few expectations relating to the future. Obviously, it worked out. After joining, I spent about nine years with the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer. I did four tours during this period in the Ivory Coast, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, and at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. That is how I initially engaged with the UN. Eventually, I stepped away from the Department of State to serve the United Nations community. When I started, I was not sure where it would lead. Luckily, I enjoy working for the global community and think it ended up right for me. As I discussed earlier, dealing with uncertainty came down to being open to new opportunities and change. Nowadays, it relates to careers since the world seems to change so quickly. You have to be ready to make moves when opportunities pop up.
Has all the traveling you have done during your career opened your eyes to a new reality?
There are so many different types of issues impacting people worldwide. Traveling opened my eyes to the inequalities related to COVID-19, climate change, the water crisis, and more. The least advantaged, another word for the poor globally, tend to have the most significant impact from these inequalities. I have seen so many different circumstances that people live in. Everyone is just trying to improve their lives for themselves and their families. As we try to make a difference in the world, whether it is where I am sitting in the United Nations, at the community level, or at Oakland University supporting surrounding areas, we need to think about how we can help and make a difference. Â
Speaking of issues impacting people worldwide, you spent a year on the United Nations' COVID-19 response team. Can you discuss that experience?
As Covid's impact began to be felt globally in March 2020, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, wanted to form a communications response initiative to fight the misinformation around the disease. Some thought it was not real, while others believed in conspiracies. He decided to bring a team together to combat the false rumors. My colleagues and I around the UN worked to create a campaign intuitive called 'Verified' that could spread factual information. It is still up and running at
shareverified.com, although I am not directly involved in it anymore. The idea was to bring partners worldwide to help communicate accurate, factual, science-based information about Covid. Right now, it has transitioned to trying to increase vaccination rates and combatting the misinformation regarding vaccines. Also, the initiative has placed focus on providing access to the vaccine. It is an interesting phenomenon we are dealing with right now, as we have people who do not want to take the vaccine in the U.S. Meanwhile, others around the world, especially in less developed countries, really want to get the vaccine but do not have access to it. That is starting to change and get better, but the rates can always improve. Unless we defeat Covid around the world, it is going to keep coming back.Â
Transitioning into your current role as Director of the United Nations Information Center, what are your primary job responsibilities?
It can be unpredictable at times. The Information Center is basically the UN's office in Washington D.C., managing the relationship between the UN, the U.S. government, and the U.S. Congress. It is also part of the leadership committee in Washington. On a day-to-day basis, colleagues that are experts in different areas of the UN and myself meet with our counterparts in the U.S. government. It is mostly state departments, the National Security Council, and the Department of Commerce. That aspect of my job is managing the relationship between the UN and its counterparts. I also work on communication initiatives across the U.S., which has been challenging in my second stint as director because of Covid. You do not have the personal interaction to go out and speak at universities or meet with different groups interested in the UN's work. I am hoping to get back to in-person interaction with groups. We have all done our best with Zoom and other interactive platforms. Still, it is not the same compared to being face-to-face, particularly in diplomacy and international relations. You really need to be in the room with people. We are beginning to do more and more of that, so I hope we do not go backward in that area.Â
To wrap things up, in your 20-plus years of international relations, do you have a most rewarding experience or feat in mind?
As I have been around the UN, a couple of things I have worked on come to mind. You realize you have successes through sport and life but that you have to keep working past that. Those moments of success, whether it is a victory on the basketball court or a successful diplomatic feat, are not over all of a sudden. You have to go to the next game or the next challenge. A very satisfying moment occurred around five years ago when I was with the United Nations Foundation. At the time, I was working closely with lots of different entities, business leaders, and government organization leaders across the UN. The purpose was to get the governments of the world who make up the UN to create something called 'Sustainable Development Goals'. We also wanted to have success on a climate change agreement in Paris in 2015. From September to December, two things happened. First, the UN general assembly adopted 17 sustainable development goals. Second, the Paris Climate Agreement was adopted. That was a period where we thought things were going well regarding the issues the UN focuses on. We want to fight poverty, the climate crisis, gender equity issues, and more. The accomplishment related to our mission, so it was a positive feat. Our work to fight and help these issues continues today. The pandemic has only made everything more challenging because we have to recover from Covid, move forward from the pandemic, and take on additional challenges that have been set back due to the health crisis. The work never ends, but as I continue to say, we will keep moving forward.
