President's Medal
David M. Rickey
A native of Geneva, David M. Rickey is an engineer by training who spent his career as an executive with several companies at the heart of the information revolution.
In recent years, Rickey has been an active and important philanthropist providing leadership and support of many community based programs in Geneva and across the country.
One of six children of George '45 and Shirley Rickey, he attended DeSales High School and later Marietta College, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in mathematics. He went on to earn an additional B.S. in metallurgy and materials science from Columbia University and M.S. in materials science and engineering from Stanford.
Rickey's professional career grew in step with the rapid growth of the computer processor industry: rising from IBM to Northern Telecom Inc. to Applied Micro Circuits Corporation and finally to AMCC president and CEO. At AMCC he engineered a corporate turnaround that resulted in remarkable growth. He retired from his posts at AMCC in March 2005.
Rickey, his wife Brenda and their daughters have established charitable foundations that provide support for many causes. At Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the Rickeys have created the George F. Rickey '45 Endowed Scholarship Fund in Chemistry, named in honor of David's father.
In the Geneva area, the Rickeys have been involved with and supported DeSales High School, the Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center, the Geneva Boys & Girls Club, the Geneva Free Library and other organizations.
They have also supported science education and other important efforts at Marietta College and Columbia and Stanford universities.