Over the past year, Institute of Technology alumni and friends have made a substantial investment in the college’s students, academic programs, and research. Our benefactors have more than doubled last year’s gift totals. Not only is this strong level of support encouraging, it is an endorsement of the teaching and research the college carries out every day, which enhances the quality of all our lives.
As of the end of February, with four months remaining in this fiscal year, Institute of Technology alumni and friends have committed nearly $23 million to support student scholarships, fellowships, faculty, research, and academic programs. Alumni gifts for scholarships and fellowships alone have quadrupled.
These gifts are especially important because the University matches the award from all new endowed scholarship and fellowship fund commitments of $25,000 or more on a one-to-one basis, doubling the impact of their gift for student support. Corporate matching gifts may also be used to meet the minimum threshold and pledges may be paid over a five-year period.
Among gifts that have pushed the Institute of Technology to record support levels are the following:
Harold (ME ’49) and Phyllis Conrad who recently endowed the Harold and Phyllis Conrad Mechanical Engineering Fellowship with a gift from their Individual Retirement Account (IRA). A provision in recent federal legislation, effective through 2007, allows individuals age 70-1/2 or older to direct a charitable distribution from their IRA, up to a maximum of $100,000, with no penalty as long as that money goes directly to charity. What’s even better—the Conrad’s fellowship award will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the University.
Also taking advantage of the opportunity to make a gift directly from her IRA is Phyllis Branin (ChemE ’47) who added to the Phyllis B. Branin Fellowship Endowment in Chemical Engineering, which she established in 2004. Considered one of the trailblazers for women chemical engineers in the 1940s, Phyllis was employed by General Electric. As a retiree, she is eligible to receive a company match for her gifts to her fellowship, all of which is matched by the University.
Rich Kruger (ME ’81), Executive Vice President of ExxonMobil Production Company, wanted to “give back” as a way of saying thank you for the outstanding education he received. He recently made a gift to endow the Richard M. Kruger Scholarship Fund, which will provide scholarships for Institute of Technology students. Rich was able to take advantage of ExxonMobil’s matching gift program as well as the University match.
With a deep commitment to the Institute of Technology and a gift of $4 million, an anonymous donor recently established the Gemini Chair. The purpose of the chair is to help the Institute of Technology provide students with an opportunity for training in basic business and entrepreneurial skills with an eye for the technical and engineering marketplace.
Every day great things are happening at the Institute of Technology. Students and faculty are working steadfastly to discover new and more efficient sources of alternative energy; more effective ways of protecting our environment; lifesaving medical devices and drugs; safer buildings, bridges, and infrastructure; and a plethora of inventions for the future.
An investment in the Institute of Technology is an investment in our quality of life in Minnesota and on a wider scale, our nation and the world. Your gifts, large or small, are essential to our ability to carry on this strong tradition of excellence and innovation.
The Institute of Technology recently announced that it has received an anonymous $10 million bequest. The deferred gift will be used to set up a permanent endowment to fund graduate student fellowships.
The University estimates that the endowment will fund about 15 to 25 graduate fellowships each year to help graduate students pay for education and living expenses.
“This generous gift is a critical step in securing the future of the Institute of Technology,” said Steven Crouch, dean of the Institute of Technology. “Through these fellowships, we will be able to maintain our stellar reputation and continue to attract the best and brightest graduate students. These graduate students are a key part of the research engine that drives our university.”
“This gift will make the U of M more attractive to the most talented and creative students—women and men who have many options for their graduate education,” said University President Robert Bruininks. “Attracting these high potential students will be key to our aspirations to become one of the top three public research universities in the world. They also will be focused in areas that many observers, including the National Academies and the Business Roundtable, have identified as critical to our country’s ability to compete in a global economy.”
The Institute of Technology currently enrolls about 2,500 graduate students. Student support in the form of fellowships and scholarships continues to be a top fundraising priority within the Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota.
The Institute of Technology recently received a “Top Producer Award” given to the college with alumni and friends contributing the highest gift total during the University’s Promise of Tomorrow Scholarship Drive.
A record 44,860 University of Minnesota alumni and friends made gifts and pledges during the three years of the scholarship drive, helping achieve the $150 million goal.
During the scholarship drive, $37 million was raised for graduate student fellowships, including an anonymous gift of $10 million for fellowships in the Institute of Technology.
An anonymous gift of $4 million will establish the Gemini Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship the holder of which will teach a course for Institute of Technology undergraduate students to help them broaden their leadership capabilities, business knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills.
“To maintain our programs in the ranks of the world’s finest and to continue to innovate with increased impact for our graduates, we need to prepare students for success in all aspects of their careers,” said Massoud Amin, who directs the U’s Center for the Development of Technological Leadership (where the Gemini Chair will reside).
A group of Institute of Technology alumni recently toured the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) Observatory. The facility, located on Mt. Graham (elevation 10,700 feet) east of Tucson, Ariz., is an international collaboration involving University of Minnesota Institute of Technology researchers. The LBT is the most-technologically advanced ground-based optical telescope in the world. Data from the LBT is used to research the origins of the universe, dark matter, quasars, black holes, and star formations. This tour was one of several alumni gatherings around the country in cities such as Naples, Fla.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; and Austin, Texas in which key faculty within the Institute of Technology shared their research and expertise with alumni.
