Digital exhibit on Ric Weiland (‘76), sheds light on early Microsoft employee & gay philanthropist
Did you know that Microsoft’s second employee was an openly gay Stanford graduate and a high school friend of Bill Gates? The digital exhibit on Richard “Ric” Weiland (1953-2006) explores the history and interests of this fascinating tech philanthropist, bringing together several short articles about Weiland’s experiences with the gay community, Stanford, Microsoft, and charity, along with a timeline of major dates for the Gay Liberation movement and a selection of digitized materials from the Ric Weiland archival collection housed at Stanford Libraries.
To explore the collection, you can search within the exhibit or browse our pre-curated item categories, which include Weiland’s diaries from 1974-1989, photographs from his time on campus and abroad, and records of his outfits from Seattle gay community costume parties.
Weiland graduated from Stanford University in 1976, with a degree in electrical engineering. During his senior year of college, he became one of the first employees of the software company founded by his high school friends, Bill Gates and Paul Allen. That fledgling company’s name was Micro-Soft (later Microsoft).
After leading the effort to create Microsoft Works, predecessor to Microsoft Office, Ric Weiland retired from his job as a programmer at age 35 and became a full-time philanthropist. With his generous donations, Weiland supported the gay community in his hometown of Seattle and across the United States, making major contributions to a number of LGBTQ+ non-profits including GLAAD, GLSEN, and PFLAG. His philanthropic work also included numerous contributions to programs at Stanford such as the Weiland Health Initiative supporting queer students.
Weiland passed away in 2006 at the age of 53, leaving behind an incredible legacy of bequests to the organizations he had cared so much about. His partner, Mike Schaefer, also donated many of Weiland’s personal materials to the Stanford University archives, which now form the Richard William Weiland papers.
Interested in learning more about Weiland’s life? Check out the documentary Yes I Am: The Ric Weiland Story (2021), directed by Aaron Bear, which was screened in Hohbach Hall in October 2024.
Acknowledgements
This Spotlight exhibit was designed by Archives Assistant Hana/Connor Yankowitz (‘23), based on the physical exhibit curated for Hohbach Hall in collaboration with Exhibits Coordinator Kristen Valenti-Keen in summer/fall 2024. Special thanks to Kristen, Spencer Gondorf, and Henry Lowood in the Silicon Valley Archives; Cathy Aster from the Product & Service Management team; and Josh Schneider in the University Archives for their support of this project.
About Spotlight
The exhibit was created using Spotlight at Stanford, a layer of services that integrates with Stanford Libraries' discovery, access, and preservation infrastructure. Spotlight at Stanford is available for use by members of the Stanford community who wish to enhance user engagement with their digital materials. If you are interested in learning more about Spotlight at Stanford, please contact the service team.