Formerly a member of the campus bagpipe band, Hillsdale alumnus Charles Robison ’00 now leads a congressman’s staff.
Robison was named chief of staff to Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, in June. He previously served as state director for then-U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, and he said he considers it a privilege to help find common-sense solutions to the various problems that arise in state politics.
“In my time serving these members of Congress, I have gotten to know families that have faced real threats to their livelihoods by Obama-administration policies,” Robison said. “It is really rewarding to be able to help Montanans push back against federal overreach.”
Robison now lives in Helena, Montana, with his wife, Rachel, and two children.
At Hillsdale, he majored in classical studies and history. Robison was also involved in College Republicans, the debate team, a pre-law society, and two honoraries.
His involvement wasn’t all academic, however. Musically inclined, Robison helped start a bagpipe band.
“We would pipe at the end of the week in front of Central Hall on Friday afternoons,” he said. “It was traditional Scottish music. I also sang with Phi Mu Alpha, and we had some great concerts. Once we did a bunch of songs from ‘Grease’ the musical and had a ‘Grease’-themed date party.”
Robison also served as editor-in-chief for the Hillsdale Collegian and maintained a weekly college history column in which he republished old Collegian stories from the archives.
Outside school, Robison served as a firefighter for the city of Hillsdale, which he called some of his “most fun” memories.
“I was once called to a fire at Olds dormitory,” he said. “I also have a plaque on the wall from when I saved the [Hillsdale] Hospital from a fire in the attic.”
After Robison began working for the state of Montana, he helped a fellow Hillsdale alumnus, John Barnes ’01, relocate to the state in 2012, and the two have since begun working together in politics.
Barnes said his only distinct memory of Robison from Hillsdale was his bagpiping, but the two now live in the same town.
“Charles is an optimist, is very cheerful, has a very positive attitude, is an extremely hard worker, and definitely has a passion for politics and for making Montana a better place to live and work,” Barnes said. “He was a natural fit for that position, and I think the congressman scored big when he got Charles on his staff.”
After graduating from Hillsdale, Robison worked at the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, in addition to helping with political campaigns and performing nonprofit work. In 2007, he continued his education at the University of Montana, graduating with a master’s degree in business administration and a law degree.
After school, Robison worked as an attorney for three years with Tim Fox, who is now the attorney general of Montana. He also assisted with Fox’s political campaign before serving under Sen. Daines for four years.
During his political career, Robison has focused on pushing back several federal regulations regarding the state’s water, the coal industry, and forest-fire prevention, among others.
Kenneth Calvert, associate professor of history and Hillsdale Academy headmaster, said he remembers Robison both for his popularity in the classics department and for his distinguished reputation among the city firefighters.
“When he was in my class on Roman history, he wrote a paper — and I actually still have it in my files — on agricultural virtues in the Roman republic, and I still use some of the same ideas he wrote about in my class,” Calvert said. “He has really continued in his interest in the Roman republic and is continuing to make that part of America today.”