RIT is honoring Frank Sklarsky ’78 as Outstanding Alum for 2024. Established by the Office of the President in 1952, this is the highest honor the university can bestow upon a graduate. It is in recognition of professional accomplishments as well as service and generosity to the university. The award was presented at convocation on May 10, 2024.

He worked for Chrysler for 20 years and eventually became vice president for finance for DaimlerChrysler. Following that, he spent two years as chief financial officer for ConAgra Foods in Omaha, Neb., and then returned to Rochester as Eastman Kodak’s CFO. He was also CFO for Tyco International and completed his career as executive vice president and CFO of PPG Industries, retiring in 2017.

In 2018, the Sklarskys made an endowed gift to RIT’s Saunders College of Business to support costs associated with the Sklarsky Center for Business Analytics. The 800-square-foot space supports collaborative and project-based learning.

And in 2021, they gave $2.5 million for the Sklarsky Glass Box Theater, one of the main features of the new Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED).

Sklarsky served on the RIT President’s Roundtable and has been an RIT trustee since 2009, most recently serving on the enrollment management and marketing committee, as well as serving as chairman of the investment committee.

He calls RIT “a really outstanding and distinctive institution with a low level of ego. That’s what separates us from some other really great universities. Everybody at RIT checks their egos at the door, from the top down. It creates a really collaborative atmosphere. There’s a lot of camaraderie and it feels really good.”

“We feel fortunate to have found a way to give back,” he said. “We have a group of students and a university that will help build a better place for future generations.”