Special Campus Memo: Passing of Robert Burnett, former trustee

Feb 13, 2018

Grinnell College announces the loss of a friend and former trustee, Robert A. Burnett. He died Feb. 7 at his home in Des Moines.

Bob joined Meredith Publishing Company in 1952 as an advertising sales trainee and spent the next 40 years working for Meredith in progressively more responsible roles, including sales manager in Cleveland, marketing manager in Des Moines, and, starting in 1961, as Better Homes and Gardens advertising director in New York. Bob was named president and CEO of Meredith Corporation in 1977.

In 1981 Bob was selected as Publisher of the Year by the Magazine Publishers of America. He was named chairman and CEO in 1989, a position he held until his retirement in 1992. Bob continued to serve on the board of directors until 1997.

Bob was intensely civic minded, particularly in the Des Moines area where he devoted time and resources to Blank Park Zoo, the Des Moines Community Foundation, Des Moines Art Center, the Waterworks Park project, and Grinnell College, among others.

Bob joined Grinnell's Board of Trustees in 1979 and retired in 2014, serving as board chair from 1982-88. He served with distinction, promoting the best interests of the College's students, faculty, and staff.

Bob was preceded in death by his wife Gloria and is survived by his six children, 11 grandchildren, and a great-grandson.

A visitation will be held Friday, Feb. 16, from 5-7 p.m. at Iles Funeral Home-Dunn's Chapel, 2121 Grand Ave., Des Moines. A celebration of life ceremony will be held Saturday, Feb. 17, 11 a.m. at Plymouth Congregational Church, 4126 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines. An obituary appeared in the Feb. 12 issue of The Des Moines Register.