RIT mourns the loss of Trustee Emeritus Klaus Gueldenpfennig

RIT is mourning the loss of Trustee Emeritus Klaus Gueldenpfennig, who died Sept. 10. He was 85.

Mr. Gueldenpfennig, founder and former CEO and chairman of REDCOM Laboratories Inc., was appointed to the RIT Board of Trustees in 1992 and named trustee emeritus in 2006. Twice an RIT student, he earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1974 and an MBA in 1977.

Mr. Gueldenpfennig and his wife, Brigitte, and daughter, Dinah, are faithful RIT alumni and donors, most recently donating $1 million to the expansion and renovation of Saunders College of Business last month. Over the years, the Gueldenpfennig family has gifted more than $2.5 million to RIT both personally and through their telecom company, REDCOM.  

“A long-serving member of our Board of Trustees, Klaus Gueldenpfennig was committed to RIT and our students,” said RIT President David Munson. “He demonstrated his dedication to the university on many fronts, including through financial support of Saunders College of Business and donation of his time and expertise. Klaus will be sorely missed. Our sincere condolences go out to his family and friends.”

Mr. Gueldenpfennig emigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1965. Only 13 years later he and his wife founded REDCOM, a Victor-based telecommunications equipment manufacturer and software developer. Dinah now serves as the business’ president and was appointed to the RIT Board of Trustees in 2019.

Mr. Gueldenpfennig and his wife have received numerous awards throughout their careers, including the NRS Award in 2014, the highest honor given by RIT’s Nathaniel Rochester Society; the Distinguished Alumni Award from Saunders College in 1988; and the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award in 1990, given annually to successful individuals who developed a business that improved the Rochester economy or who changed the course of an existing business.

Other accolades include the 1992 Inventor of the Year Award from the Rochester Intellectual Property Law Association and the International Business Executive of the Year from the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to serving on RIT’s Board of Trustees, Mr. Gueldenpfennig served on several board subcommittees, including Enrollment Management and Career Services, Buildings and Grounds, and Finance. He has also been a member of the Kate Gleason College of Engineering’s Center for Quality and Applied Statistics Council.

He is predeceased by his father, Otto, and his mother, Gerda (nee Astfalk), and is survived by his wife of 58 years, Brigitte; daughter Dinah Gueldenpfennig Weisberg; and son-in-law John Weisberg. He also leaves behind extended family, including his sister, Doris Friedrich; her husband, Lothar; their daughters Petra and Heike; and their respective spouses and children, along with numerous cousins and friends.

Information about Mr. Gueldenpfennig’s visitation and funeral service can be found on the Democrat and Chronicle website. The RIT flag will be lowered in his honor on Sept. 20. In lieu of flowers, the Gueldenpfennig family has asked for contributions to RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering or Saunders College of Business.