READING THE HEADLINES, it’s hard not worry about the future. Stocks are rocky, the housing
market is falling, gas prices are skyrocketing,
the U.S. dollar continues to weaken, and experts warn that the country is sliding into a recession.
As troubling, are indications of cuts in higher education allocations as the state government anticipates
significant budget shortfalls. In the wake of this news, students today face tremendous financial pressures as the cost of education increases.
These economic challenges make educating our future engineers and scientists even more urgent and essential. They have the ability to envision a brighter future for our world, and the knowledge to create the path to get there through health care and medical device advancements that enhance the quality of life; innovations that meet our world’s growing need for energy while sustaining the planet; and information technologies that enable artificial intelligence, communications,
and e-commerce. But first, we must provide
them with a high quality education.
The good news—we have an increasingly greater number of talented students applying for admission to IT each year. For fall 2008, more than 4,500 applied for 825 openings and the average ACT score for those accepted was 29.5.
Keeping higher education accessible and affordable
remains a challenge. Next year’s tuition is expected
to rise to more than $10,000.
Despite that challenge, there is more good news. The Promise of Tomorrow scholarship drive has resulted
in more than $222 million in contributions, which provides much needed support to undergraduate and graduate students. As a result, we are able to offer 36 percent of our Twin Cities graduates an average of more than $4,000 per year in scholarship assistance. And thanks to the University’s matching program, the impact of these scholarships will be doubled. We are most grateful to those who have endowed scholarships and fellowships, but the need is still great.
Also, the University’s groundbreaking Founders Free Tuition program will provide $22 million in benefits
for 4,700 low-income students, which means 12 percent of the undergraduate student body will attend free of tuition and fees. We’re the second university in the nation, and the largest, to initiate this program.
Attracting and retaining the most talented faculty
is key to providing a world-class education and conducting world-class research. Faculty salaries and research start-up costs are expensive and our state subsidy covers only a relatively small percentage—
approximately 25 percent—of our budget. Private
support for endowed chairs and professorships strengthen the Institute of Technology’s future, enabling
the University to attract and retain the brightest
faculty members in their fields.
Top-notch faculty and students require state-of-the-art facilities. A new physics and nanotechnology building is essential for IT to continue its cutting-edge research and provide a high-quality foundational
science education to its students. Additionally, to attract top quality students and enhance the undergraduate
experience, nearly $7 million is required to renovate Lind Hall into a welcoming student center for a variety of student services.
To maintain our nation’s economic leadership, we must make it possible for talented students to pursue advanced degrees in science, math, and technology. In fiscal year 2007, donors gave a record $27 million in gifts and pledges to IT, reflecting our donors’ commitment
to shaping a strong future for our college.
Your support again this year will help us continue to make a high quality education accessible to our students, and your investment will keep our programs
at the cutting edge. State and University resources
alone can’t meet IT’s financial needs. That’s why your support is so critical at this time.
THE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
has received a gift from chemical
engineering alumna Rose Ling to
establish the Joseph T. and Rose
S. Ling Chair in Environmental
Engineering. The $2 million
endowment fund will support
outstanding faculty involved
in environmental engineering
research and education.
Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, a
McKnight Distinguished
Professor in the Department of
Civil Engineering, will be the first
faculty member to hold the chair.
Foufoula-Georgiou is co-director
of the University’s National Center
for Earth-surface Dynamics
funded by the National Science
Foundation and is a former
director of the University’s St.
Anthony Falls Laboratory.
Ling established the endowed
chair in honor of her late
husband, Joseph, who received
his Ph.D. in civil engineering at
the University in 1952. He went
on to a long and distinguished
career as an environmental
engineer at 3M.
Foufoula-Georgiou will work
to strengthen research at the
University on understanding
the vulnerability and resilience
of environmental systems in
the natural and engineered
environment. These include
controlling environmental
pollutants, floods and landslides,
as well as improving
ways to predict and manage
environmental impacts from
climate and land-use changes.
Members of the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School team make adjustments to
their robot in the pit area at the FIRST Robotics Competition. The first-year
team from Clouqet, Minn., was sponsored by the University of Minnesota
Foundation and mentored by staff at the Institute of Technology’s Center
for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power.
THE UNIVERSITY’S WILLIAMS ARENA was the site of the first-ever
Minnesota High School Regional FIRST Robotics Competition held this
spring. The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
competition attracted more than 50 teams of students from the
six-state region.
Borrowing a page from the sport playbook, the robotics competition
aims to use excitement of sports to engage students in science and
technology.
Their challenge was to build a competition-worthy robot in just six
weeks. There were rules to follow—including size and weight restrictions
and each team was given motors, a battery, a computer controller,
and other core components. Beyond that, it was up to the ingenuity of
the teams, with a little help from their mentors.
Just two years ago, there were only two FIRST Robotics teams in
Minnesota. Due to sponsorships from the University of Minnesota and
corporations including Medtronic, Boston Scientific, 3M, St. Jude Medical,
Lockheed Martin, General Mills, Cargill, Best Buy, BAE Systems, and
others, the number of robotics teams tripled from 16 last year to 54 this
year. Worldwide, there are more than 1,500 FIRST Robotics teams.
Giving to the Institute of Technology
The Institute of Technology plays a central role in helping the University
prepare for a time of unparalleled scientific and technological
change. IT faculty and students are conducting cutting-edge research
and forging alliances with business and industry to improve
our quality of life. The future requires a substantial investment.
For more information on specific needs or instructions about how
to give, visit the IT Web site at www.it.umn.edu and click on the “Make
a Gift to IT” link.
Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, a
McKnight Distinguished
Professor in the Department of
Civil Engineering, will be the first
faculty member to hold the chair.
Members of the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School team make adjustments to
their robot in the pit area at the FIRST Robotics Competition. The first-year
team from Clouqet, Minn., was sponsored by the University of Minnesota
Foundation and mentored by staff at the Institute of Technology’s Center
for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power.