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R. Thayne Robson began his work at the University of Utah in 1961 as a Management Lecturer, and became a full professor in 1975. He worked as Acting Director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BEBR) for several years before taking official leadership in July 1972, and he has served in this capacity since that time.

Robson earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in economics at Utah State University, and he did coursework for his Ph.D. at Cornell University, as well as completing selected seminars at Harvard University. He taught at Harvard and UCLA as well as the University of Utah. He worked with cabinet level committees in Washington, D.C., served as a member and chair of national policy committees, was an advisor to federal statistical agencies, and served on international missions for the Alliance of Universities for Democracy - an organization promoting democracy and market economies in Central and Eastern Europe. He was also a past president of the Association for University Business and Economic Research.

Professor Robson was an economic advisor to the past four Utah Governors. He represented Utah with national credit rating agencies, was past president of Salt Lake Rotary Club, as an advisor of member of state committees on economic development, taxation, tourism, motor carrier regulation, human resource programs, and education. Professor Robson was the author of numerous books and journal articles.