Vincent Carbonell

Dr. Vincent A. Carbonell, Self-Made New York Executive and Educational and
Civic Benefactor, Dies at 66

Dr. Vincent A. Carbonell, a New York-born entrepreneur who rose from public housing to build a respected company serving some of the city's most consequential projects, and who devoted decades to educational and civic institutions he believed expanded opportunity and social responsibility, died on January 16, 2026, after a brief illness. He was sixty-six.

Dr. Carbonell was, in the fullest sense, a son of New York. He was raised in public
housing and educated in the City's public schools, graduating from Stuyvesant High School, where academic rigor and competition helped shape his lifelong discipline and ambition. New York's ethos—its toughness, diversity, and insistence on self-reliance—remained central to his identity, as did his conviction that those who succeed carry an obligation to give back.

He earned his B.B.A. and M.B.A. in industrial marketing from Baruch College, and later a J.D., cum laude, from New York Law School, which he attended while working full-time. He went on to complete a Ph.D. in business administration at Touro College. His academic path was long, demanding, and pursued alongside entrepreneurship,reflecting his belief that education was not a badge of success, but one of its engines.

Dr. Carbonell was the founder and president of United Reprographic Services, a
privately held firm he established in 1988 and grew into a leader in the New York
reprographics industry. The company serves architects, engineers, construction firms, and government agencies, and manages reprographic work for major projects, including the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site.

Before founding United Reprographic, Dr. Carbonell held roles in New York's printing, manufacturing, and non-profit sectors. His life as an entrepreneur was notably wide-ranging. In addition to building United Reprographic, he founded and owned a restaurant that also was an art gallery called Portfolio, and established a firm serving the legal market through the production of trial exhibits and graphic representations. Through United Reprographic, he also partnered with the New York City Department of Probation to provide employment and job-skills training to young, first-time offenders.

Dr. Carbonell was deeply engaged in philanthropy and civic life. He served for two
decades as a trustee of New York Law School, where he was a member of the
executive committee and chaired the advancement committee. He endowed
scholarships for law students who work full-time, supported capital campaigns, and funded a large lecture hall. Those gifts, plus a fellowship in focused on the law and policy of the workplace, which he established in honor of his father—a longtime labor-union leader—reflect his enduring commitment to social justice and to widening access to the legal profession.

Beyond his alma mater, Dr. Carbonell served on advisory boards, supported libraries, schools, and preservation organizations, and was a founding member of Columbia University's Founders Society, which encourages entrepreneurs to align commercial success with philanthropic responsibility. Dr. Carbonell was known for his warmth, humor, wide-smile, and personal engagement with students and young professionals. He believed strongly in institutions and spent substantial time cultivating and supporting responsible political leadership that he believed would strengthen democratic life.

Dr. Carbonell is survived by his wife, Susan Chin Carbonell, whom he met while they both attended Baruch College; their daughter Audrey, a junior at Columbia University, of whom he was incredibly proud; and a sister Dina Regine. He is predeceased by his parents Ricardo and Rose "Dolly" Carbonell. His legacy endures in the institutions he strengthened, friends and colleagues who's lives he touched, the opportunities he created, and the examples he set.