Local News
RIT announces transformational $11.1 million estate gift from late alumnus Henry Navas and his wife Deborah Robbins to support students and programs

Rochester, New York – Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has received an extraordinary $11.1 million estate gift from the late Henry Navas, a two-time alumnus and former trustee, and his late wife, Deborah Robbins. The generous contribution will support a wide range of initiatives across the university and reflects the couple’s deep, lifelong connection to RIT, its students, and its mission.
Included in the total is a historic $4.8 million directed to RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), making it the single largest gift in the institute’s history. The donation will significantly expand scholarships and programs focused on student success, opening new doors of opportunity for current and future deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
“Henry and Deborah were lifelong friends of NTID,” said NTID President Gerry Buckley. “It is through this friendship and the mutual respect shared among Henry, Deborah, and I that our students will be able to live, learn, and thrive as part of our very special community. We are so grateful.”
This latest contribution adds to what has now become a remarkable legacy of philanthropy from the couple. Over the years, Navas and Robbins have contributed a total of $12.4 million to RIT, showing a sustained commitment to the university’s evolution and impact.
While NTID will receive the largest portion of the estate gift, several other RIT programs will also benefit significantly. Among them is the university’s beloved Big Shot project, an innovative nighttime photography experience developed by the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. An allocation of $800,000 has been designated to support this project—one that Navas had long championed.
Professor Michael Peres, a leader in the Big Shot effort, spoke fondly of Navas’ vision:
“We had many long and wonderful conversations about Big Shot and its future. Being a person who enjoyed challenges and process, Henry dreamed big things for Big Shot. He liked Big Shot because it brought people together and it had both social and cultural components. He often commented how Big Shot was about art, technology, and so much more. His impact on Big Shot will be forever remembered and honored.”
Another area that reflects the couple’s appreciation for the arts and literature is the Navas-Robbins Poetry Fund, established in 2024 with a $150,000 gift. Housed within RIT’s College of Liberal Arts, the fund provides students with opportunities to engage directly with visiting poets, writers, and artists. Through this fund, RIT distributes books written by visiting poets, creates visually stunning broadside prints of featured works using the university’s letterpress, and supports student poets in showcasing their own writing at public readings. The fund also promotes partnerships with literary organizations across the region, enhancing interdisciplinary and cultural learning on campus.
In addition to arts and student support, Navas and Robbins made a lasting mark on critical thinking at RIT. A $5.3 million portion of their gift has now permanently endowed the Eugene H. Fram Chair in Applied Critical Thinking. Originally established in 2012 through anonymous funding by the couple, the chair promotes rigorous, interdisciplinary thinking and decision-making skills among students. With the couple’s permission, their names are now publicly associated with the endowment.
The couple’s generosity also reflects their impressive personal and professional backgrounds.
Navas, who passed away in 2022, earned two graduate degrees from RIT’s Saunders College of Business—an MBA in 1974 and a master’s in accounting in 1977. He had a distinguished career in corporate finance, working at Xerox, Advanced Micro Devices, and ultimately Cisco Systems. At Cisco, he served as controller and treasurer and played a key role in the company’s initial public offering in 1990, helping the now-global tech company establish its financial foundation.
Throughout his life, Navas remained closely tied to RIT. He served on the Board of Trustees from 2013 to 2015, was part of the Board’s education and audit committees, and contributed his expertise to several strategic university initiatives. He was also active on the West Coast Board of Advisors from 2014 to 2020 and participated in the university’s Strategic Plan Task Force. In 2016, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Saunders College.
Robbins, who also passed away in 2022, earned her Ph.D. in English Literature with a specialization in American Studies from Northwestern University. She spent time teaching at Marquette University and the University of Michigan before transitioning to corporate communications roles at Xerox and Apple. After retiring from Apple, she dedicated herself to animal welfare, volunteering at the Peninsula Humane Society and even helping care for gibbons at a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand. She also served on the board of the San Francisco Zoo.
Their shared love of education, literature, and the arts led them to support RIT in ways that touched nearly every corner of the campus community.
“Henry and Deborah worked tirelessly to support RIT through their generous giving and dedication to its students, faculty, and staff,” said Phil Castleberry, vice president of University Advancement. “All those who knew Henry and Deborah immediately felt a sense of connectedness. We are forever grateful to them for their passion toward the university and their belief in the power and impact of higher education.”
As students, faculty, and staff reflect on the lives of these two extraordinary individuals, their impact continues to resonate—whether through a scholarship at NTID, a thought-provoking poetry reading, a Big Shot photo event, or a classroom discussion sparked by critical thinking.
Their gift is more than a sum—it is a legacy rooted in hope, imagination, and the belief that education can shape the world.

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