Thomas Gosnell, former chairman of the RIT Board of Trustees and well-known community philanthropist, died April 27, 2009.

Mr. Gosnell, former chief executive officer of Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., was appointed to RIT’s Board of Trustees in 1977 and served as chairman from 1987 to 1992. The great-grandson of Ezra R. Andrews, a founding trustee of Mechanics Institute (RIT’s predecessor), Mr. Gosnell followed a long family tradition of involvement with the university. RIT’s College of Science building is named in his honor, and he was instrumental in the establishment of the $13 million Center for Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Technology, an addition to the Gosnell Building.

Other contributions have helped establish or have supported the Student Life Center, eight scholarships (each in memory of family members), the Nathaniel Rochester Society, Center for Hearing and Speech Research and the Arthur J. Gosnell Professorship in Economics.

RIT’s Gosnell Boathouse was named in honor of Mr. Gosnell and his wife, Georgia. He also supported RIT men’s and women’s crew teams with the donation of three rowing shells.

The family connection to RIT continues: Thomas Gosnell’s son, Arthur Gosnell, joined the board of trustees in 1997.

Joe Venniro