David and Patricia Atkinson

• About the Center
• ACSF People
  • Leadership & Staff
  • Faculty Advisory Board
  • External Advisory Board
  • Faculty Fellows Browser
  • Faculty Fellows List
  • David & Patricia Atkinson
• Funding
• Events
• Annual Reports
• Related Campus Groups
• Sustainability Links
• Acknowledging ACSF
• ACSF Identity
• Contact Us

Frank DiSalvo hosted a panel discussion (video) with world-class sustainability experts as part of the October 28, 2010 celebration.

A prolific investor with professional and personal interests in energy and the environment, David Atkinson '60 made a major contribution to sustainability when, in 2007, he provided seed money to create Cornell University's Center for a Sustainable Future. His support has had a galvanizing impact at Cornell, funding more than 40 teams of faculty from across the campus and advancing research in such diverse areas as food systems, aging and the environment, wind energy, and the economic consequences of climate change.

On October 28, 2010, Cornell celebrated an extraordinary new commitment from David and his wife, Patricia Atkinson, by renaming the Center in the Atkinsons' honor (video). The David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future (ACSF) will increase Cornell's visibility in sustainability research and allow the university to leverage important partnerships with individual donors, foundations, corporations, and outside groups. It will draw together the vast resources of a university that is uniquely positioned to address some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the world today.

David and Pat Atkinson

In addition to their support for ACSF, the Atkinsons have advanced Cornell's work by creating the Atkinson Forum in American Studies, which brings to campus individuals and groups that enrich the curriculum of the American Studies Program and the cultural life of the university. The David R. Atkinson Professorship of Ecology and Environmental Biology, held by Robert Howarth since 1993, has raised the university's profile in a crucial area of sustainability for nearly two decades.

David Atkinson is the founder of Atkinson & Company in Princeton, New Jersey. He retired in 1992 as general partner of Miller, Anderson & Sherrerd LLP, a Philadelphia-based investment counseling firm. He held a number of previous positions in the financial industry, including vice president in the research department of Morgan Stanley, cofounder of Franklin Capital Investors, and manager of the Scudder Development Fund at Scudder, Stevens & Clark. David earned an MBA in 1963 from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia. He was an officer in the U.S. Navy for two years, after graduating with a BS from Cornell. David has been an important adviser to Cornell University. As a member of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Advisory Council, he chaired the Environmental Sustainability and Development Task Force that broadened Cornell's efforts in sustainability. A life member of the Cornell University Council, he was recently named a Presidential Councillor, the highest honor the university bestows.

Patricia Atkinson is a graduate of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She is active in the Princeton (New Jersey) Hospital Auxiliary, serving as membership chair for ten years and treasurer for two years, and a longtime volunteer for Princeton Meals on Wheels.