Hobart and William Smith Colleges

20 December 2024 New Science Center to be Named for Alumna Cynthia Fish

Hobart and William Smith honors Cynthia Gelsthorpe Fish ’82, L.H.D. ’23 and John F. Fish for their service and $25 million gift to key academic priority.

Hobart and William Smith is proud to announce that through the generosity of Honorary Trustee Cynthia Gelsthorpe Fish ’82, L.H.D. ’23 and John F. Fish, the new, integrated science center currently in design will be named The Fish Center for the Sciences. Their $25 million gift will support the construction of a new building that will provide physical facilities that allow for collaboration across disciplines and that match the sophistication of HWS’ science curriculum. A science center is a key priority of “Further Together: The Campaign for Our Third Century.”

“I made the gift because it was needed,” says Gelsthorpe Fish. “The Hobart and William Smith science departments have consistently delivered an excellent education to thousands of burgeoning scientists and enhanced the thinking of a wide variety of students. Science is a key component of a liberal arts education and the opportunity to learn in a lab and gain exposure to scientific methods changes your learning and thinking forever. Your aperture widens.”

Gelsthorpe Fish was influenced by a lab course she took as part of her psychology major at Hobart and William Smith. “It introduced me to the fundamental requirements of an experiment, from having a hypothesis to then challenging that theory through variable testing. Unless it’s scientifically proven, it’s just a theory. I very much believe that the disciplined search for measurable truth is a core value of a liberal arts education.”

“I am grateful to Cyndy and John Fish for their remarkable philanthropy that is making this new center for science possible and that will serve all students no matter their field of study,” says President Mark D. Gearan. “Cyndy’s commitment to Hobart and William Smith over many years as a member of the Board of Trustees has always demonstrated principled leadership that is focused on students and that creates community. Through this gift, Cyndy and John will realize a longstanding priority – a science center that honors our liberal arts and sciences curriculum, providing students access to a world class, 21^st century education.”

At nearly 40,000 square feet, the new building will occupy the south end of the Hobart Quad, adjacent to Rosenberg and Napier Halls, and draw architectural inspiration from Coxe, Medbery and Williams Halls. The interior will offer four floors of classrooms, labs, faculty offices and instrumentation and equipment spaces that will help unify STEM teaching, learning and research on campus. The project is being led by Suffolk Construction, a Boston-based construction firm with extensive experience designing and building complex facilities including higher education science buildings. John Fish is the company’s founder, Chairman and CEO.

“We have benefitted tremendously from John Fish’s attention to this project,” says Gearan. “He and the Suffolk team have been focused on understanding what our faculty and students need and then delivering ideas that are responsive to our objectives but that also push our thinking.”

Gelsthorpe Fish hopes that the Fish Center for the Sciences will “reinforce community, relationships and bonds by bringing different forms of learning and thinking together to understand scientific ways to leave the world a better place.” 

To date, $32.5 million has been raised toward the project’s estimated total of $53 million. To support the ongoing upkeep and operations of this new facility, an additional $6 million in endowment funds has been committed.  

“I hope we will inspire others to step forward and help to complete this important project,” says Gelsthorpe Fish.

Gelsthorpe Fish served 16 years as a member of the Hobart and William Smith Board of Trustees, including as Vice Chair, and is now an honorary member. An active community volunteer and advocate, she has spent her life and career in service to people and institutions that advance humanity in mind, body and spirit. Since graduating from William Smith with a degree in psychology, she has supported vital causes — from the environment to higher education to research on the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and the care of families and patients affected by it.

During the William Smith Centennial celebration in 2008, she was the lead donor to establish the Centennial Center, which has advanced HWS’ curriculum around entrepreneurial studies and leadership. Awarded an Alumnae Citation and the Centennial Bowl in recognition of her service to her alma mater, she has served in numerous volunteer roles at HWS and supported campus projects like the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts where the Fish Screening Room is named in her honor, and the creation of scholarships. Gelsthorpe Fish received her master’s degree from Tufts University in teaching with a focus on early childhood education.   

Pictured above, Honorary Trustee Cynthia Gelsthorpe Fish ’82, L.H.D. ’23.