Thomas Gosnell

Thomas Gosnell, retired chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, passed away in 2009 having served 15 years on RIT’s Board of Trustees and as board chairman from 1987 to 1992, contributing both his time and his business expertise.

Mr. Gosnell follows a long family tradition of involvement with RIT as a descendant of Ezra R. Andrews (great grandfather), a founding trustee of Mechanics Institute, RIT's predecessor. His commitment to the university included significant financial contributions, most notably a $3 million challenge grant that helped expand and enhance facilities for the College of Science.  Gosnell Hall, featuring the Center for Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Technology, was dedicated upon its completion in 1998.

Other contributions have helped establish or have supported the Student Life Center, eight memorial 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.

Georgia Gosnell,Tom's wife announced in 2012, a $5 million commitment to benefit the school, which incorporates the university’s academic programs in biology, bioinformatics, biotechnology and molecular bioscience, and environmental science to establish the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences.