HWS News
22 October 2024 • Alums Announcing the Bozzuto Family Endowed Fund for Scientific Excellence By Andrew Wickenden '09
A $1 million commitment from former Chair of the Board of Trustees Tom Bozzuto ’68, L.H.D. ’18 and Barbara Bozzuto will support innovative scientific teaching and research in perpetuity.
Former Chair of the Board of Trustees Tom Bozzuto ’68, L.H.D. ’18 and Barbara Bozzuto recently made a $1 million estate gift to support Hobart and William Smith’s commitment to innovative scientific teaching, learning and research. The endowment funded through the gift will sustain continued upgrades in equipment and facilities for HWS’ new integrated science center.
“The innovation we have seen in academic programs, combined with our historic commitment to the arts and sciences, ensure that Hobart and William Smith has a very, very rich future ahead,” says Tom Bozzuto. “We made this gift very simply because we believe in HWS. I think it’s incumbent upon those of us who have benefited from that education to help to the degree that we can. Barbara and I have been blessed and we’re very happy to be able to be supporters of the school and its continual evolution as a great educational institution.”
“For decades, the Bozzutos’ extraordinary generosity has enhanced nearly every aspect of the Hobart and William Smith experience for our students,” says President Mark D. Gearan. “As a distinguished former board chair and dedicated alumnus, Tom has consistently championed our mission. This latest gift empowers us to further harness our rich tradition of interdisciplinary education and innovation, ensuring that our students continue to thrive and lead in an ever-evolving world.”
Citing the legacy of hands-on lab work, research in the Finger Lakes and training for pre-med students, Bozzuto says that the sciences are “a critical part of what makes Hobart and William Smith such an extraordinary place.”
The gift will support the Academic Excellence pillar of the Further Together Campaign, which launched publicly this spring.
Bozzuto, who joined the Board of Trustees in 1999, serving as Chair from 2016 to 2020, took a lead role in supporting the previous HWS capital campaign.
“I am delighted with how far we’ve come in a relatively short period of time,” he says of Further Together, which thus far has raised $219 million toward the $400 million goal. “That is a remarkable achievement.”
When this most recent gift is realized, the Bozzuto family will have established a legacy of distinction across HWS’ most innovative academic programs: entrepreneurship, leadership and now the sciences. In 2017, Bozzuto, his wife Barbara, and their children Toby and Lexie made a $4 million gift to endow the Bozzuto Center for Entrepreneurship and the Bozzuto Family First-Generation Endowed Scholarship. Bozzuto was a lead donor in the renovation of the HWS boathouse, named in honor of his father, Charles Bozzuto. He has also been a participant in the Executive in Residence Program and The Bozzuto Group has provided internship and job opportunities for dozens and dozens of HWS students. He was recognized by his peers with the 2008 Alumni Citation, which was awarded with gratitude and admiration for his longstanding engagement. To commemorate their 40th wedding anniversary, Barbara established the Thomas S. Bozzuto ’68 Endowed Scholarship Fund at HWS.
At Hobart, Bozzuto majored in English, was a Theta Delta Chi brother and a Druid, played football, was a member of Hobart Student Association and Little Theatre, and worked at Saga. He was president of his sophomore and junior classes and, in his senior year, president of the student body. He served as a combat correspondent for the 25th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, and later earned a master’s degree in metropolitan studies from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
During his more than 50-year career in real estate, Bozzuto has overseen and been responsible for the creation of more than 60,000 homes and apartments, garnering national renown for his leadership and vision in the industry. In 1988, Bozzuto established and for 28 years was CEO of The Bozzuto Group of Companies, which today manages more than 120,000 apartments and, in addition, provides an array of real estate services including development, construction and acquisition of apartments, and homebuilding. He currently serves as the company’s chairman.
The recipient of the Freddie Mac Builder of the Year award, Bozzuto also has been awarded the Environmental Builder of the Year by the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA) and has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Metropolitan Washington's Building Industries, the MNCBIA and the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association. A Congressional Appointee to the Millennial Housing Commission, Bozzuto has served several terms as a gubernatorial appointee to the Maryland Housing Commission and chaired the board of the National Multi Housing Council, which represents the leadership of the apartment industry nationally. In 2013, the Urban Land Institute’s Baltimore District Council honored Bozzuto with its lifetime achievement award. Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and Management named Bozzuto the 2018 Business Leader of the Year.
