Alumni and Friends

Gifts from individuals, companies, and foundations provide the College of Engineering with the necessary resources to assure the vitality and growth of our educational and research programs.

Your gift may be designated to the Department or Fund of your choice with the confidence that it will be used for the purpose you intended. The College's giving opportunities are described below.

UNRESTRICTED ANNUAL SUPPORT

College and Departments

• The College of Engineering utilizes unrestricted funds to recruit outstanding faculty, meet student needs, support research, and fund graduate students.
• The Departments of Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering utilize donated funds for undergraduate scholarships, graduate student fellowships, departmental symposia, guest lecturers, and support for senior design curricula.

Women in Engineering (WIE) exists to mentor and encourage the participation of women, an under-represented sector of students and faculty in the College of Engineering.

• Emphasis is on programs that educate and encourage interaction among all members of the College community.
• Programs include annual lectures featuring successful female engineers, workshops to improve communication and negotiation skills, and panels on issues such as careers, success in and life after graduate school, time management, and family friendly policies.

Resources to Insure Successful Engineers (RISE) is open to all interested students and seeks to provide a supportive atmosphere to assure academic success. The RISE programs serve a significant range of students domestically and abroad with particular focus on African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students. A professional staff provides mentoring assistance and, when needed, financial assistance for books and other expenses. Funds are often provided for tutoring and special academic advisement. RISE maintains a Student Advisory Council that ensures continuous improvement in workshops, mentoring, and tutoring efforts.

ENDOWMENT

Academic Enrichment Awards ($50,000) are used as a recruitment tool for outstanding students, offered at the time of admission and usable at some point during the undergraduate experience.

• Global Studies Scholarships – students attain a global perspective in their area of study with a renowned faculty member during Winter Session.
• Undergraduate Research – students conduct lab, field, or computational research.
• Service-Based Learning – students participate in activities such as Engineers Without Borders that combine classroom concepts with real-world implications and social responsibility.

Undergraduate Scholarships ($50,000) provide tuition assistance to students who demonstrate exceptional academic promise or financial need with specific criteria determined by the donor. The annual Honors Day program includes academic scholarships where qualification criteria meet the desired standard of a 3.0 GPA.

Faculty & Student Awards ($50,000) are made in the form of cash to the recipient to recognize outstanding achievement, dedication, or spirit in the teaching and learning environment.

Graduate Fellowships ($450,000) provide a 9-month stipend of $22,500 for first-year graduate students, essential for the recruitment of talented Master’s and Ph.D. level students. Fellowships are for the first two semesters of study, allowing selection of research focus; subsequently, students are paid through research grants.

Junior Faculty Chairs ($1,000,000) provide an annual stipend of $50,000 for talented young faculty as an enticement to teach at the University; the stipend complements their compensation with funds for special research, speaking engagements, conferences, and publications.

Endowed Chairs ($2,000,000) are highly prized by outstanding faculty because of their prestige and academic value. Presently 20% of faculty in the College hold named professorships. The Endowed Chair is a most coveted position with funds providing a portion of the professor’s annual expenses.

The University currently spends 4.8% of endowment earnings for needed priorities.

NEW CONSTRUCTION

(Timetable, priority and feasibility under discussion)

Science & Engineering Building – to accommodate expanded enrollment in the College, which is expected to increase by 50% by 2014. The building would house facilities for multidisciplinary research and instruction in the natural sciences and engineering.

Information Technologies Building – to bring the Departments of Computer & Information Sciences and Electrical & Computer Engineering together under one roof to improve efficiency and synergy.

Engineering Academy Building – to serve as a gathering place for prospective students, current students, faculty, professionals, and engineering society members where research papers and materials are housed, career awards are posted, and meetings are held in a welcoming 24/7 setting.

• Pledges may be fulfilled over five years.
• Pledges may be fulfilled through company assets, appreciated real property, publicly traded securities, and/or closely held stock.
• Actual naming and criteria are at the discretion of the donor in conjunction with the needs of the College.
• Commitments can be counted toward future Capital Campaign efforts.
• A written Letter of Intent would guide the agreement between the donor and the College of Engineering.

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