Calvin Gordon Rand ’51

Portrait
Image
Body

Cal was born May 15, 1929, in Buffalo, N.Y., to George and Isabel Williams Rand. His grandfather George F. Rand founded Marine Trust Co., forerunner to Marine Midland Bank.

He graduated from the Nichols School in 1947. At Princeton Cal was a history major and belonged to Charter Club. He roomed with Wells Eighmy, Art Mudge, and George Shafer.

After earning a master’s degree from Columbia, he was a longtime philosophy professor and philanthropist at SUNY Buffalo.

Cal was president of the American Academy in Rome, which presents the Rome Prize awards to artists and scholars.

He founded and chaired the George Bernard Shaw Theatre Festival and was a trustee of the Playwrights Horizons Theatre in New York City, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, and the National Theatre School in Montreal, among other groups. He was president of the Irish Classical Theater in Buffalo and of the Arts in Education Institute, an adjunct to the Lincoln Center Institute.

Cal died Dec. 31, 2016, in Buffalo. He was predeceased by his wife, Patricia Andrew Rand; his brother, George F. Rand Jr. ’45; and his sister, Isabel Rand Hunt. He is survived by his daughters, Robin Ellis, Melissa Robb, Jennifer Griffis, Lucinda Rand, and Elizabeth Rand; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. 

0 Responses

Join the conversation

Plain text

Full name and Princeton affiliation (if applicable) are required for all published comments. For more information, view our commenting policy. Responses are limited to 500 words for online and 250 words for print consideration.

Paw in print

Image
PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
The Latest Issue

July 2025

On the cover: Wilton Virgo ’00 and his classmates celebrate during the P-rade.