Vanden Brul Awards

Applications for the 2025 Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Student Awards have now closed. Please check back soon.

In 2019, the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Student Entrepreneurial Award was established. It is intended to recognize outstanding RIT undergraduate or graduate student(s) who have demonstrated the potential to become successful entrepreneurs. All RIT students may apply for the Vanden Brul Student Awards. Three students will be selected each year and the placements will be announced at the event. The student award is offered in conjunction with the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award, which is presented annually to a business leader in the community who has successfully managed the development of an “emerging” business. These community recipients are intended to become an inspiration for local students.

Students will be awarded the following monetary amounts:

• 1st place - $3,000
• 2nd place - $1,500
• 3rd place - $500

Eligibility for RIT Students

• RIT Students who have demonstrated engagement in entrepreneurial activities
• RIT Students who have successfully managed the development of “emerging” businesses
• RIT Students who have supported the entrepreneurial eco-system at RIT or in Rochester through their engagement in clubs, activities, or other related organizations

Students who wish to enter must provide the following:

• Resume
• One-page summary outlining previous, current, and future entrepreneurial activities
• Contact information of three professional references regarding entrepreneurial activities

Please check back for 2025 event information.

This annual award is given to an individual or business that has improved the economic life of Greater Rochester or whose innovation management skills have changed the course of an existing business. The award’s recipient is selected by a committee of area civic leaders, business leaders, and RIT faculty. The Herbert W. Vanden Brul Award symbolizes the connection between RIT and the Rochester Business community.

Following his military service and earning a juris doctor degree from St. John’s School of Law, Rochester native Herbert W. Vanden Brul returned to his hometown in 1951 to begin his new career practicing law. 

An entrepreneurial visionary in Rochester, Mr. Vanden Brul co-founded several business ventures in the region. One of his most successful, RF Communications, Inc., has since become a division of Harris Corporation. Another, the Culver Management Corporation, acquired nearly one million square feet of local industrial space to become the home of many small start-up companies who have improved the local economic climate.

Mr. Vanden Brul continued to pursue his business interests until his passing in 2003. He served on the boards of Ormec Systems, Inc. and the Genesee Valley Trust Company, Inc., and was active in the cultural and educational life of the Rochester community. Mr. Vanden Brul and his wife Joan, who passed away in 2007, had a long association with RIT and were active members of the Nathaniel Rochester Society. Sons Bill H. ‘88 (business administration) and Don J. ‘76.