Introduction

Provided by James J. Wenskus

The MIT Club of Rochester, one of the oldest MIT alumni clubs, was founded in 1910 by a group of 12 ardently loyal, local graduates. The purpose of the organization, as described in the Club's constitution, was, and is: "to bring together former students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology residing in Rochester and vicinity, for the purpose of fellowship and mutual advantage; to encourage, aid and counsel students who might seek admission to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to maintain an effective communications link between MIT and alumni, to enhance support for the institute and forward the interests of the alma mater."

Rochester, Eastman Kodak, and MIT have long enjoyed a special relationship. About half of the charter members of the club were Kodak people. Individuals like Frank Lovejoy, James Haste, and Albert Sulzer so impressed George Eastman with their technical and managerial brilliance that Eastman came to regard MIT as most worthy of his generosity.

In 1916, Mr. Eastman made a gift of $20 million (today's equivalent of about one-half billion) to M.I. T. This munificent gift enabled MIT to move from Boylston Street in Boston to the present campus in Cambridge. Kodak has employed large numbers of MIT degree holders over the years, a number of whom have achieved top positions in the company. For years, the MIT Chairman or President has been a member of the Kodak Board of Directors. Kodak has been a member of the MIT Industrial Liaison program and has sent a selected person each year since 1950 to participate in the Sloan Fellowship program leading to an M.S. in Industrial Management.

Two members of the MIT Club of Rochester, Gregory Smith '24 and Clarence L.A. Wynd '27, went on to be presidents of the MIT Alumni Association. Several other members have been board members of the Alumni Association or members of one of the departmental visiting committees. Recent recipients of alumni awards for distinguished service include James Littwitz '42 (Bronze Beaver), Edwin Newton '55 and John Flynn '50 (Morgan Award) and Bill Hosley '48 (Lobdell Award), Rey Grammer '45 (Kane Award).