The Wilson Legacy

Wilson Commons

Architect: I.M. Pei, dedicated in 1976

Dedicated in 1976 and named in honor of the families of the late Joseph R. Wilson ’03 and his sons, the late Joseph C. Wilson ’31, chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1959 to 1967, and the late Richard U. Wilson ’34, Peggy Wilson represented the family and spoke at the event. Six years later, while visiting the University, designer I.M. Pei said he “took particular pleasure in seeing the building used in the way Mr. Joseph Wilson had envisioned it and in the way we designed it: as the center of University life.”

Joseph C. Wilson Boulevard

Designated by the City of Rochester

Originally River Boulevard, the main road through the River Campus was renamed Joseph C. Wilson Boulevard by the city of Rochester. This along with Wilson Commons, Wilson Quadrangle, Wilson Day, and the Wilson Professorships are just a few of the testaments to the family’s legacy and, most of all, to the late Xerox founder’s commitment to his alma mater.

Wilson Day

Established 1972

Wilson Day was established in 1972 as a day-long offering of seminars on the River Campus and at the Medical Center, a dinner at the Memorial Art Gallery, and a concert at Eastman Theatre. In 1988, it was changed to a day of service for first year students and is now a longstanding tradition at the University, serving as one of the principal community builders during Freshman Orientation.

Traditionally, students are placed in over 50 agencies throughout the city of Rochester and perform a variety of tasks including washing chalkboards, painting houses, landscaping, and playing bingo in nursing homes. Wilson Day provides students with an introduction to the needs and assets of the Rochester community and is intended to be a gateway event for continued engagement. Many cite Wilson Day as one of their most memorable Rochester experiences and their reason for continuing to perform community service throughout college.

Wilson Scholarships

Katherine Upton Wilson Scholarships
In 1953, Joe Wilson, along with his father and his brother, established the Katherine Upton Wilson Scholarship Fund in honor of Joe’s mother. The Fund supports sons and daughters of employees of the Haloid Company (now Xerox) by providing full tuition to one student each year in Arts and Sciences.

Joseph C. Wilson “Change” Scholarships
Named in honor of Joseph C. Wilson and to celebrate his unwavering belief in the importance of workplace diversity, the Wilson “Change” Scholarships recognize a continuing need to acknowledge, celebrate, and promote integration and diversity in the workplace and on campus. Wilson Scholars demonstrate leadership by promoting bridge-building dialogues across racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic lines in diverse environments.

Wilson Medical Funding

For research and fellowship training

Over time, Joe and Peggy Wilson provided significant contributions to the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), including funding to establish Wilson Fellowship Programs in the School of Medicine and Dentistry’s Department of Psychiatry and what is now Wilmot Cancer Center, and to facilitate oncology and pulmonary research. In addition, they provided unrestricted support to the School of Nursing.

Wilson Professorships

First awarded in 1962 (William H. Riker and student)

In 1962, Joseph R. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson gave $1 million to establish the first Wilson Professorships.

Then in 1967, Joe and Peggy Wilson named the University the beneficiary of a $15 million irrevocable trust to be used to establish a series of distinguished professorships. Ultimately, the gift was used for capital needs (Wilson Commons) as well as professorships. At the time, President W. Allen Wallis stated that the gift benefits “not only the university fortunate enough to be the recipient, but all of higher education. In every university, faculty members can be encouraged that the worth of their work is recognized by people like the Wilsons who realize that a university is its faculty, and that an investment in teaching is one of the wisest that can be made.”

Hatch Recital Hall Piano

at the Eastman School of Music
A gift from the Marie C. & Joseph C. Wilson Foundation

In 2009, the Marie C. & Joseph C. Wilson Foundation provided a grant to the Eastman Theatre Renovation and Expansion Project for a new Steinway piano to be used exclusively in Hatch Recital Hall.