Endowed Funds - F

This fund was initiated through the generosity of the University Faculty to enrich the Library holdings. In total, 45 members of the Faculty contributed to the fund.

Sherman and Anne Farnham have had a strong interest in the Rochester community and its history, and have graciously donated local history books and materials to the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections since the mid-nineteen eighties. This Fund was created from a gift from the Anne M. Farnham Charitable Lead Trust to continue that collection of local history materials.

The Richard F. Fenno Fund was established during the University of Rochester's Campaign for the '90s through a gift from the Honorable Lewis A. (Class of 1966) and Mrs. Nancy G. (Class of 1967) Kaplan. Both Judge Kaplan and his wife wanted to honor Professor Fenno for his major contributions to the field of political science and his outstanding reputation as a teacher and scholar. Income from the fund is used to support the acquisition of serials and other materials relating to the study of government and law.

"A few years ago I sentenced a thief who had stolen a good deal of materials from the rare book room at Columbia. In my opinion departing upward from the US Sentencing Guidelines to impose a sentence higher than would have been warranted by the monetary value of the thefts alone, I wrote the following: 'Great research libraries are repositories of our social, cultural, and scientific heritage. Their rare books and manuscripts are vital to understanding the world and often are irreplaceable objects of study for scholars who add to our knowledge of ourselves and our environment.' The reference is to my decision in United States v. Spiegelman, 4 F. Supp. 2d 275 (S.D.N.Y. 1998)."
-- The Honorable Lewis A. Kaplan. University of Rochester Class of 1966.

This was established with an initial grant of $100,000 from the Foundation Historical Association, Inc., in Auburn, New York, with the express purpose of having Rush Rhees Library catalog, refurbish, preserve, expand and provide greater accessibility to scholars and the general public its collection of public and private correspondence and other memorabilia of William H. Seward, Secretary of State during the administrations of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson. The collection stands as the most significant collection of Seward's papers in the country.

Margaret Friedlich bequeathed a portion of her estate to her sister-in-law, Sylvia Davis, with the stipulation that this portion of the estate go to the Rush Rhees Library. In 1992, Sylvia gave her collection of Edward Gorey prints to the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. The collection was showcased in an exhibition, which included a poster designed by Gorey especially for this event. Upon Sylvia Davis’ death in 2004, her will designated a portion of her estate to the Rush Rhees Library for support of the rare books collections.

The Friends of the Libraries endowment was established in 1976 at the direction of the Friends' Executive Committee. In a memo dated August 18, 1976, Librarian Ben C. Bowman and Friends' President John A Leermakers directed the Treasurer's Office to transfer $1,000 from the Friends' operating fund to establish this new endowment. Over the years, life membership gifts to the Friends in the amount of $1,000 have been added to the endowment and this practice continues. Additional memorial and tribute gifts have been made by a number of donors to further supplement the principal of the Fund. Also, from time to time, the Friends' Executive Committee has transferred money from fund-raising activities to the endowed fund. Income from the principal of the Friends' endowment is "to be used by the Director the Libraries in consultation with the Friends to acquire books or manuscripts for the University's Libraries."

Catherine "Kitty" D. Hayes' career at the Rush Rhees Library spanned almost 25 years, serving in various positions, the last being the Associate Director of Libraries for Development at the University of Rochester. Ms. Hayes' interest in computers inspired her to establish the Fund for the Future, which supports the growth and acquisition of new formats to access library resources. This includes the purchase or preservation of materials in digital, electronic or other formats yet to be developed. Income from the fund may also be used to train and educate students, library staff, and faculty or community patrons in the use of new information sources.