Through the Wyant Challenge, the couple’s generosity will provide emerging faculty with resources and recognition and strengthen the future of the Institute of Optics.
Steve and Betsy Fantone (provided photo)
As part of For Ever Better: The Campaign for the University of Rochester, Stephen D. Fantone ’79 (PhD), an optics leader, entrepreneur, and inventor, and Elizabeth “Betsy” Fantone, a not-for-profit leader, have established an endowed early-career professorship at the Institute of Optics, part of the URochester’s Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
The couple’s $600,000 gift creates the Stephen & Elizabeth Fantone Professorship in Optical Engineering, which will be amplified by an additional $900,000 from the Wyant Optics Challenge. Together, the funds will establish a $1.5 million endowed professorship, providing permanent support for emerging faculty and their research and teaching at the Institute of Optics. For the Fantones, the gift is both an investment in the institute’s future and a deeply personal expression of gratitude.
“This gift is a thank you—an acknowledgment of what the University of Rochester has meant in my life, my family’s lives, and my career,” says Steve Fantone. “People invested in me when I was a graduate student at the Institute of Optics, and this is an opportunity to pay it forward.”
Investing in excellence
Created in 2022 by the late optics pioneer and Trustee Emeritus James C. Wyant ’67 (MS), ’69 (PhD), ’21 (Honorary) and Tammy Wyant, the Wyant Challenge is a historic $12 million initiative to expand the institute’s faculty by 50 percent and advance its preeminent status in optics by its 100th anniversary in 2029. By joining the challenge, the Fantones are helping to realize Jim Wyant’s vision.
“As an alumnus, a strategic advisor to the Hajim school, and an optics visionary himself, Steve has the experience and desire to make the institute and the experience here for faculty and students the best it can be,” says Wendi Heinzelman, the John and Barbara Bruning Dean for the Hajim School. “He and Betsy share a commitment to our mission and to our success, and for that we are truly grateful.”
Tom Brown, the James C. Wyant Distinguished Professor and director of the Institute of Optics, underscores Jim Wyant’s goal when the challenge launched: to inspire others to participate, to amplify their investment, and to strengthen the institute’s leadership in optics.
“By joining the Wyant Challenge, the Fantones are providing vital support to attract faculty who will build on our unparalleled past achievements in optical engineering to train the people and develop the tools to lead the next generation” says Brown. “Steve and Betsy’s generosity is helping us create an even stronger foundation for ongoing excellence.”
A place with “heart”
Steve Fantone knows firsthand what that investment can mean. After earning his bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he was admitted to several of the country’s most prestigious graduate programs. The University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics stood out.
His interest in the field was driven by a lifelong curiosity. “I’ve always been fascinated by optics, and the Institute of Optics had the strongest program then, as it does now,” he says. Reflecting on the academic rigor, he describes it as both intense and rewarding—a “crucible,” as he puts it. “Being a student here was transformative, an intellectual boot camp—you knew you were going to emerge changed on the other side.”
Steve Fantone’s graduate study at the institute, supported by a Hertz Foundation Fellowship, set the course of his life and career. He found an intellectual environment “with heart”: rigorous but collegial, with opportunities to work shoulder-to-shoulder with optics leaders such as Duncan Moore, Jay Eastman, Philip Baumeister, and Brian Thompson. He and Betsy also made lifelong friendships here.
“The University is the kind of place you can get your arms around,” he says. “You get to know the people, work together, and contribute to one another’s success.”
Creating a ripple effect
The long-term impact of the Fantones’ gift is central to the value of endowed giving. Endowed professorships provide stable, perpetual funding. For early-career scholars, such support can be transformative, particularly as universities face tighter budgets and growing demands.
“The Fantones’ support will grow over time,” adds Heinzelman. “This compounding investment will extend their impact across generations and create a ripple effect that will perpetually benefit students, collaborators, and the optics community.”
The Wyant Challenge is nearly fully funded—three years ahead of schedule. Its success reflects the Wyants’ vision and the dedication of donors like the Fantones to the institute’s next century.
“There is a responsibility to help set up the next generation for success,” says Betsy Fantone. “That, along with the role the institute and the University have played in our lives, and our friendship with Jim, greatly influenced this gift, which reflects our wish to help others have the opportunities that have meant so much to us.”
“Jim Wyant was an incredible role model to me,” adds Steve Fantone. “His business achievements enabled him and Tammy to play a key role in advancing the field of optics and launch the Wyant Challenge. As a community, we owe him our deepest gratitude.”
About the Fantones
Steve Fantone received URochester’s Distinguished Scholar Award, 2015 (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)
Steve Fantone is the founder, strategic advisor, and chair emeritus of Optikos, an optical engineering company headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts. After earning his PhD, he started his career at Polaroid and later founded Optikos.
An expert in optical engineering and optical product development, he holds more than 70 patents and has served on both private and public company boards and advisory panels. He is a senior lecturer in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and is on several non-profit boards, including the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, the Pioneer New England Legal Foundation, the Optica Foundation, the Talcott Mountain Science Center and Academy, and is chair of the Fannie & John Hertz Foundation.
Steve and Betsy Fantone, John and Barbara Bruning, Tammy and Jim Wyant (provided photo)
Steve Fantone has been a member of Optica for more than 50 years and has served as its treasurer for 18 years and its 2020 president. Optica’s Distinguished Service Award is named in his honor. Other distinctions include election to the National Academy of Engineering and URochester’s Distinguished Scholar Award and Hajim’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Betsy Fantone is past president and a member of the board of the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y., where she grew up. Together, the couple transformed the abandoned Cayuga Lake Pumphouse into a home, reflecting their interest in history and preservation. They are parents of two URochester optics alumni: Dennis Fantone ’12 (MS) and Stephen J. Fantone ’17 (MS).
At the University, the Fantones are charter members of the George Eastman Circle. Steve has been a volunteer leader for many years, including as chair of Hajim School’s National Council and cochair of URochester’s Boston Network Leadership Cabinet.
Wyant Challenge momentum
To date, the Wyant Challenge has provided matching funds for these professorships:
Philanthropy and engagement are critical to the future success of the University. Learn how our alumni and friends can support For Ever Better: The Campaign for the University of Rochester. To make a difference at the Hajim School and its Institute of Optics, contact Derek Swanson, Executive Director of Advancement for the Hajim School.
