Alumni Gazette

Wilson ’31 Remembered

Wilson

The legacy of Joseph C. Wilson ’31—and his entire family—is easy to appreciate at the University.

Wilson Commons, Wilson Boulevard, Wilson Days, and named professorships are just a few of the testaments to the family’s and, most of all, to the late Xerox founder’s commitment to his alma mater.

A former chairman of the Board of Trustees, Wilson, along with George Eastman, is widely regarded as among the chief architects who helped set the direction of the University in the 20th century. Wilson, who was board chairman from 1959 until 1967, died in 1971.

In recognition of Wilson’s service, the University presented the George Eastman Medal to Wilson’s family during Meliora Weekend last fall.

President Jackson presented the medal. Also on hand were Anne Mulcahy, current Xerox chairman and CEO, and Ursula Burns, Xerox senior vice president and University trustee.

Wilson’s acumen as a business leader also received appreciation this year in writer David Owen’s new book Copies in Seconds, a biography of Chester Carlson, the inventor behind what became known as xerography.

Carlson (for whom the Carlson Science and Engineering Library is named) persuaded Wilson, then the head of a small Rochester company, to commercialize his invention.