Eisenhart Awards and Eisenhart Memorial Scholarship records and related material

Richard Henry Eisenhart (1915-2010) was born on February 1, 1915. His mother, Elsa Bausch Eisenhart, was a granddaughter of J. J. Bausch, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb. Eisenhart's father, M. Herbert Eisenhart, was president of Bausch & Lomb, as well as a member of the Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) Board of Trustees for over 50 years. Richard Eisenhart attended Allendale Colombia School in Rochester, NY, then entered the Choate School. Although Eisenhart began attending Amherst College in Massachusetts as part of the class of 1938, he dropped out after his second year. After leaving Amherst College, Eisenhart began working for Pratt & Whitney Machine Company in Hartford, CT. Then, in 1938 he returned to Rochester, NY to begin working at Bausch & Lomb. He continued to work for his great-grandfather's company until 1958, when he left to form his own manufacturers' representatives firm, R. H. Eisenhart Inc.

Eisenhart was very involved in the Rochester community. Like his father, he was on RIT's Board of Trustees from 1972 to 1980, even serving as president for 5 years. He also belonged to and served on the board for many other community organizations including the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Brighton Chamber of Commerce, Rochester Rotary Club, Hillside Children's Center, Genesee Hospital Foundation, Allendale School, Rochester Regional Health and Hospital Council, Monroe Community Hospital, Riverton Foundation, United Community Chest, Rochester Savings Bank, and the Rochester committee of the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece. He was also an active member of the Third Presbyterian Church.

Throughout his lifetime, Eisenhart received various awards. In 1930, he earned his Eagle Scout designation and was later named one of the Boy Scouts of America's Distinguished Eagle Scouts. He also received RIT's Nathaniel Rochester Award in 1985, as well as the Allendale Columbia Distinguished Alumni Award, the Rochester Museum and Science Center Civic Medal, the RIT President's Medal. He also helped endow the Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Eisenhart married Virginia Cotins Eisenhart of Utica, NY on April 11, 1942. When Virginia died in December 2009 the couple had been married for nearly 68 years. Richard Eisenhart died on August 29, 2010 at the age of 95.