Ronald P. Lynch, a longtime friend of Cornell and vice chair of the university's Board of Trustees, died June 26 at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Conn. He was 60.
Lynch, born in New York City Nov. 6, 1935, was a managing partner of Lord, Abbett & Co., a New York investment firm, and chairman of Lord Abbett's Family of Mutual Funds. Well-respected in the industry, he was chairman of the board of the Investment Company Institute, the trade association for the mutual fund industry, from 1992 to 1994.
Lynch earned his bachelor of science degree in agriculture from Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 1958.
Lynch's love for and gratitude to Cornell were well known by friends, family and members of the campus community and formed the bedrock of his many years of service to his alma mater. He frequently noted, "I owe Cornell a lot, and I want to put something back into the system." To that end he worked passionately on Cornell's behalf for nearly two decades.
"The death of Ron Lynch brings profound sorrow to his many Cornell friends and is a great loss for the university," Cornell President Hunter Rawlings said. "He was an effective and tireless volunteer, whose exceptional abilities and extraordinary grace engendered the good will of all. As we join his family in mourning his death, we celebrate his life."
In addition to serving as a vice chair of the Board of Trustees, Lynch chaired the board's Investment Committee and was a member of the Committee on Alumni Affairs and Development, the Committee on Board Membership, the Development Steering Committee and the Executive Committee (ex-officio). He was a life member of the University Council, having served as a member of that group since 1977 and as its chair from 1989 to 1991. He also served on the Council's Athletic Advisory Committee and the Nominating Committee.
A member of the Board of Overseers at the Cornell University Medical College, he also served on the advisory councils of Athletics and the Johnson Graduate School of Management. He was a member of the advisory board of the Cornell Catholic Community.
Lynch was appointed to the Major Gifts Committee in 1985 and served as its chair for the past five years, overseeing the major gifts effort of the university's successful $1.5 billion Capital Campaign.
He also gave generously, establishing the Ronald P. Lynch Deanship of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences among the many gifts he made to the university.
Lynch once said, "I cannot overstate how important the Cornell days were to me, especially in building confidence before entering the real world. In repaying my debt to Cornell, I have enjoyed thoroughly being a part of its activities."
He is survived by his wife, Susan Eckert Lynch of Greenwich, Conn., and three sons, Ronald Jr., Charles and Andrew. He was remembered in a memorial service on July 10 at his home, 162 Round Hill Road, Greenwich.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Ronald P. Lynch Memorial Fund at Cornell University, in care of W. Barlow Ware, 55 Brown Road, Ithaca.