Inspired by his transformative journey at Adelphi, Thomas DeRosa's $2M planned gift ensures future chemistry students can achieve their academic dreams, honoring the support he received and his father's memory with the John G. DeRosa Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship.

Thomas DeRosa, MS ’80, PhD, a retired assistant professor of Chemistry at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, has increased his planned gift for the John G. DeRosa Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship in Chemistry by $800,000, bringing his total planned giving commitment to $2 million.

Reflecting on his journey, Dr. DeRosa fondly remembers Adelphi University as a quiet place for him to study and do homework on the weekends before he eventually enrolled in an evening course in chemistry.

“[Attending Adelphi] was the best thing I have ever done in my life,” he reminisced. “I had a very positive and reassuring feeling , and I was made to feel at home like it was where I belonged.”

During his time at Adelphi, he lost his father, but the support he received from the faculty propelled him forward.

“All of the professors in the chemistry department were reassuring,” he said. “They wanted us to succeed and go on after our master’s degrees. They inspired us to do more and to continue with our education in the process.”

Driven by gratitude for the scholarship that made his master’s degree in chemistry possible as a first-generation college student from a working-class family, Dr. DeRosa emphasized the importance of education in his life.

“I cherish education,” DeRosa added. “I attended and completed my graduate degree in chemistry as a recipient of a full academic scholarship. My planned gift to establish the John DeRosa Endowment in Arts and Sciences, in loving memory of my father, is to provide financial aid for students to complete their studies and achieve academic excellence.”

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