O. Preston Robinson

Who is O. Preston Robinson?

Oliver Preston Robinson was a prominent advertising professor at the University of Utah and later editor of the Deseret News.

Robinson was born in Farmington, Utah to James Henry Robinson and his wife the former Romania Elizabeth Chaffin. In 1922 he began college as a student at the University of Utah. Robinson served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France from 1924-1927. In 1928 he graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelors degree. He married Christine Hinckley, a daughter of Bryant S. Hinckley, in the Salt Lake Temple in 1929. Robinson received a masters degree from New York University. He also took special courses at the University of Munich and the University of Grenoble. He later received a Ph.D. in marketing and retail from NYU. He taught at NYU until 1947 when he went to the University of Utah, where he was head of the retailing department in the Business School. Robinson had worked for Hofstra University while completing his Ph.D. At other times he worked as a training specialist for J. C. Penney and as a professor at the University of Newark. While living in New York he also served as a branch president in the LDS Church.