B. Thomas Golisano Directs $75 Million Commitment to Create Comprehensive Campus for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Planning is underway for co-location of Mary Cariola Center School and University of Rochester Golisano Institute for IDD

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Philanthropist and entrepreneur Tom Golisano today announced the next major milestone of his long-standing commitment to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD): a planned first-of-its-kind world-class facility that will ultimately co-locate the new Mary Cariola Center School and the University of Rochester Golisano Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute.

The project is supported by $75 million in previously committed funding from Golisano, including a $50 million commitment in 2024 to establish the University of Rochester Golisano IDD Institute, and a $25 million gift in 2025 to Mary Cariola Center.  Together, these investments are converging to advance the planning for a co-located campus designed to strengthen education, research, clinical care, workforce training, and family support.

"This has always been about building something bigger than a facility," said Golisano. "By bringing Mary Cariola Center School and the Golisano Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute together on one campus, we are creating an environment where education, research, clinical care, and family services work hand in hand. That collaboration is what will truly improve the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities."

Marketplace Mall is currently being evaluated by both organizations as a potential site of the co-located campus.

University of Rochester officials confirmed they are actively evaluating available space at Marketplace Mall and performing all required due diligence in advance of finalizing location plans. More specific details will be shared at a later date.

The co-location is central to Golisano's vision. By situating a premier regional school serving children with complex disabilities alongside a first-of-its-kind institute focused on IDD research, professional education, and clinical care, a co-located campus would foster daily interaction among educators, therapists, physicians, researchers, students and families. Mary Cariola and the University of Rochester would remain as separate and independent organizations in this co-location initiative. Benefits they hope to achieve include:

• Improved coordination of services for families navigating complex systems of care
• Strengthened educational programming through direct access to clinical and research expertise
• Accelerated research by grounding it in real-world classrooms and therapeutic settings
• Expanded workforce development and professional training opportunities

"For too long, services for individuals with IDD have operated in silos," Erica Dayton, Executive Director of the Golisano Foundation said. "When professionals learn together, work together and train together alongside individuals with IDD, outcomes improve. This proposed campus creates a model where innovation and access are built into the structure itself."

"Co-locating our organization on the same property with the new Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute creates extraordinary opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and impact," said Karen Zandi, President & CEO of the Mary Cariola Center. "By sharing space with leading researchers, clinicians, and therapies, we are strengthening our collective ability to develop solutions that improve the lives of individuals with IDD and the professionals who support them. This strengthens our commitment to create a future where inclusion, dignity, and scientific discovery advance together."

Today's announcement builds on decades of close collaboration between the University of Rochester Medical Center and Mary Cariola Center to support children with IDD and their families. Providers from Golisano Children's Hospital who specialize in developmental and behavioral pediatrics, gastroenterology, and neurology provide outpatient visits to Mary Cariola students. Many Mary Cariola families participate in research studies with URMC scientists working to improve diagnosis and treatments for IDD.

The planning for co-located campuses will build on current collaborations to improve support for children with IDD and their families in our region and around the world, according to John Foxe, the University's Killian J. Caroline F. Schmitt Chair of Neuroscience and Director of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, who will also direct the new Golisano IDD Institute.

"From the gift that led to creation of the nation's first Golisano Children's Hospital more than 20 years ago, to his recent $50 million commitment to help the University create a new transdisciplinary Institute, no individual champion has done more than Tom Golisano to advance research, care, education, and support for individuals with IDD and their families," Foxe said. "We are working hard to leverage Tom's investment to create the world's top IDD institute and to support his vision for co-location with Mary Cariola Center."

For Golisano, the investment reflects a lifelong commitment to dignity, inclusion, and opportunity of individuals with IDD.

"Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve the same level of innovation, excellence, and access that we expect in every other area of healthcare and education," he said. "This newly co-located facility model brings us closer to a future where families can find support, professionals can receive specialized training, and individuals with IDD can reach their fullest potential."

About Tom Golisano & The Golisano Foundation

Tom Golisano, — entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader — is the founder of Paychex, Inc., the nation's largest human resource company for small to medium-sized businesses. Mr. Golisano's vision, perseverance, and action have left an indelible mark on a broad spectrum of issues that touch our lives in business, healthcare, education, animal welfare, voter policies, politics, and tax reform. His investments are advancing entrepreneurship and driving the success of numerous businesses and start-ups. His philanthropic contributions to education, hospitals - including multiple children's hospitals across the country that bear his name through the Golisano Children's Alliance and numerous other organizations exceed $1 billion. 

A fierce advocate for dignity and inclusion, in 1985 Tom Golisano applied his pioneering spirit to establish the Golisano Foundation to make the world a better place for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With more than $120 million in gross assets, it is one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. devoted to supporting programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities awarding grants to non-profit organizations in Western New York and Southwest Florida.

About Mary Cariola Center
Founded in 1949, Mary Cariola Center provides educational and therapeutic services to children with complex disabilities, including intellectual and developmental challenges. Serving hundreds of students annually, the Center is committed to fostering independence, dignity, and inclusion. The agency employs over 725 staff, making it a top 50 employer in Rochester. Students come from 58 different school districts and 11 counties in the area. Over 40 individuals call Cariola home in the residential program. Cariola is an independent, non-profit agency.

About Mary Cariola Foundation

Mary Cariola Foundation was established in 2021 for the sole purpose of raising and managing funds for the long-term sustainability of Mary Cariola Center and in support of the Center's mission to serve as the regional leader in personalized, interdisciplinary, evidenced-based education and life skill solutions that inspire and empower individuals and families of those with complex disabilities.

About the University of Rochester Golisano IDD Institute

The University of Rochester has long been at the forefront of improving care, advancing research, and expanding resources available to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). It is one of eight institutions in the nation that have earned three top national distinctions—designated by the federal government as an Intellectual and Developmental Research Center, a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities training center, and a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities care. Over the past decade, the University has invested more than $80 million in expanding research programs and opening new facilities that provide medical and dental care to more than 15,000 people with IDD annually.

Thanks to a transformative $50 million gift from entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Golisano, the University is building the Golisano Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute. This historic philanthropic investment will help to strengthen the University of Rochester's role as a leader in IDD, centralizing resources in one location to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and amplify impact. 

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Wendy Boyce, McDougall Communications
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SOURCE Golisano Foundation