Richard Cocks remembered for ‘extraordinary generosity’ that has transformed the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University Art Museum named for him and his wife
The couple donated artworks to the museum for 43 years
Richard Cocks remembered for ‘extraordinary generosity’ that has transformed the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University Art Museum named for him and his wife
The couple donated artworks to the museum for 43 years
Richard and Carole Cocks began donating artworks to the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University Art Museum 43 years ago. Their 2022 financial gift — kept private but the museum’s largest gift ever — resulted in the 24,000-square-foot teaching museum being named the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum (RCCAM).
died Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. He was 91.
In 2023, the retired chemical engineer who spent 37 years with Procter & Gamble received the Philanthropist of the Year award from ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú. The next year, the university awarded him an .
In a 2022 interview, Richard Cocks called it an honor to have the museum named after him and Carole, who died in 2012.
“I think that’s a nice legacy in my life to be recognized for having supported a great little museum,” Cocks said at his Indian Hill home, a suburb of Cincinnati. That donation included 13 artworks for the museum as well as four statues gifted to the College of Creative Arts (CCA). The museum, which opened to the general public in 1978, is part of CCA.
Ryan Fisher, dean of the College of Creative Arts, said the couple’s “extraordinary generosity” has transformed the art museum.
“Their endowed support enables us to acquire important works for the permanent collection and fund special initiatives and programming enjoyed by our students and the broader community,” Fisher said.
“Perhaps the most visible expression of their impact is the museum’s current renovation and expansion, a project that would not have been possible without Richard’s generosity, vision, and direct engagement,” he said.
The museum is currently closed for renovation until next fall.
“I am deeply saddened that he will not see that vision fully realized,” Fisher added, “but having Richard and Carole’s names forever connected to our art museum will allow us to honor their memory and celebrate their remarkable legacy for generations to come.”
Fisher said Richard Cocks was a valued member of the College of Creative Arts Advisory Board, where he brought his distinctive perspective and experience to advising then-dean Liz Mullenix and advocating for the college.
“I am especially moved that, upon his passing, he entrusted some of his most cherished works to our art museum,” Fisher said.
The 2022 gift set up the Richard and Carole Cocks Fund to be used to support the art museum, including the renovation and expansion of the building. The fund also supports the acquisition and maintenance of collections.
Richard and Carole were members of the American Art Society of Cincinnati. They became lifetime members of the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú art museum thanks to their generosity.
Jason Shaiman, interim director and curator of exhibitions at the museum, said, “What started as visiting the art museum from the time one of their children attended ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, Richard and Carole Cocks developed a passion for supporting the institution’s teaching mission."
Their early donations included Meissen ceramics and Chinese porcelains. Later contributions featured works by 19th century Cincinnati painters. “Their collecting interests focused on art created pre-1940, which fit well with the encyclopedic nature of the museum’s collections,” Shaiman said.
“Richard was keenly dedicated to the renovation project and championed the future of RCCAM. The staff was eagerly looking forward to celebrating the reopening of the museum with Richard. We wanted to publicly recognize him, and Carole, for making it possible for RCCAM to expand its teaching mission and community engagement. Richard and Carole will forever be memorialized at RCCAM.”
They were not ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú alumni, but both developed an early and special connection with the museum since they began donating artworks in 1983.
Like most collectors, Richard said that he and Carole contacted a couple of museums when they were interested in donating some pieces “and very quickly settled on ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú as a place that was interested in accepting those gifts. It worked well for us, and it worked well for them.”
Located on three acres of scenic sculpture park grounds at 801 S. Patterson Ave., the art museum houses five galleries of rotating and ongoing exhibitions and a growing permanent collection of more than 17,500 artworks, covering more than 5,000 years of art from around the world. The museum, which is free and open to the public, is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
The couple has five grown children, including son William, who lives on the West Coast and contributed to the 2022 gift. During a visit to Ohio, he and his father drove to Oxford so William could see the museum.
“To see it from almost every point of the compass, it’s a beautifully sited building, and I think it’s a gem for the college,” said Richard Cocks, who also was awarded the President's Medal when the museum was named in their honor.
He is survived by their five children and spouses, 15 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held Saturday, Sept. 12, from 1:30-2 p.m. at Armstrong Chapel, 5090 Drake Road in Indian Hill. A funeral will follow at 2 p.m. in Norwood is handling arrangements.