Gottesman is the chair of the board of trustees of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) in the Bronx, New York, and a long-time professor there.
[10] With her husband David, she donated $25 million to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2008, which was used to found the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research, the Ruth L. Gottesman Clinical Skills Center, and the Faculty Scholar in Epigenetics at the College.
[11] When David died in 2022, he bequeathed a portfolio of stock in Berkshire Hathaway to Ruth, with the instructions for her to do with it as she pleased.
Gottesman, in February 2024, announced a $1 billion gift to AECOM to provide free tuition to all its students in perpetuity.
[13] Gottesman was named in the 2024 TIME100 Health, a "community of leaders from across industries—scientists, doctors, advocates, educators, and policy-makers, among others—dedicated to creating tangible, credible change for a healthier population.