Credits

As curator of this virtual exhibit, I would like to conclude by sharing a bit about myself, as well as by giving thanks to those who supported and guided me through the curatorial process.

My name is Courtney Barber, and in thinking of details to share about myself, I find it most pertinent to begin with the fact that I am a lifelong resident of Rochester, New York, and have always felt a strong connection to the region. Furthering this connection, I am also an undergraduate student at the Rochester Institute of Technology, majoring in Museum Studies, and I am extremely grateful to have been given this opportunity to work within the RIT Archives. To have access to photos and documents that have been shrouded behind the passage of time was an absolute privilege, and I am hopeful that future students will engage with the Archives, and have a similar experience. While I will be starting in RIT's MBA program within Saunder's College of Business in the Fall of 2021, I will always find comfort when sitting within the Archives space-- delving into the history of another.

When beginning my research of the B. Thomas Golisano Collection in January 2021, I had some background knowledge of the entrepreneur-- but there was so much waiting to be learned. While many may think of Tom Golisano through his connections to Paychex or politics, there are so many other causes that he has engaged with, all culminating in a fascinating and multi-faceted indivudual. With such a wide array of topics and events held within the Archive's Golisano collection, I found it most fitting to focus not on transformative events in Tom Golisano's life-- but moments when he acted as an agent of transformation, himself.

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation for their support in this project, and for the initial donation by sister, Marie Graham, to create the B. Thomas Golisano Collection to the RIT Archives in 2015. Without this donation, no exhibit could exist today. In thanking the Golisano Foundation, I must then thank Ann Costello, Jean Dalmath, and Kaitlin Graham for their consistent guidance and participation in this project.

Finally, thank you to University Archivist Liz Call and Assistant Archivist Ella von Holtum for their work in preparing me, and supporting me, to make this exhibit. With many learning curves amidst an unconventional academic year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, I am extremely proud of what we have come together to produce.