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Who Made a Difference
Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology receives $25,000 check
Indiana Michigan Power (IMP), a subsidiary of American Electric Power, recently gave the Department of Electrical and Computer and Engineering Technology a $25,000 check to support laboratories, equipment, student scholarships research projects, and faculty development in the department. IMP seeks ECET graduates for employment and is an active participant in the co-op program.
On hand for the Dec. 10 presentation in Knoy Hall were (left to right) David Altizer, director of transmission services for American Electric Power; Robert Herrick, department chair, and Allen Glassburn, director of operations for Indiana Michigan Power and a 1974 alumnus of the department.
IMP has been a financial supporter of the department for the last several years.
Endowments Aim to Ease Financial Hardships and
Advance Research
Although a growing, young family, Joe and Christina Sriver feel compelled to give back now.
The couple recently gave the College of Technology a donation with the goal of stimulating research and assisting students faced with
financial barriers.
Their donation has resulted in the creation of four endowments: The Sriver Undergraduate Diversity Scholarship, The Sriver Undergraduate Scholarship
in Computer Graphics Technology, The SriverGraduate Scholarship (the first graduate studentscholarship in CGT), and The Sriver Research Fund. “I am glad to help take away some of the burdenstudents have in paying their tuition so that theymay focus on important matters that benefit us all,” Sriver said. “I am excited to see how my gift will foster student achievement and growth and
help move research forward in computer graphics.”
Another momentous aspect of the gift is the Sriver Challenge Match. Aimed at prompting additional giving, CGT alumni, faculty, and friends now have the incentive that their gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $1,000 until the giving total reaches $80,000. “Since computer graphics technology is a relatively
young discipline, the department lacks a strong alumni base,” says Marvin Sarapin, CGT department head. “The challenge match will launch an
unprecedented alumni development effort that will give us the leverage we need.”
Industry Rallies Support for New Program
A leading professional organization and manufacturer of demolition equipment came together to provide additional fundi
ng for the Department of Building Construction Management.
Caterpillar, Inc., and the National Demolition Association presented department head Stephen Schuette with gifts totaling $75,000 to help in the development of the new program in demolition and deconstruction.
The funds were part of a $250,000 campaign conducted by the association, which is calling on its members to contribute to the first academic program in the field.
"This program is badly needed," president R. David Lowendick said. "The field has an extreme shortage of skilled labor, and Purdue, as a leader in engineering and technology, is the ideal university to lead the movement."
Lowendick said the National Demolition Association is calling on all of its members to contribute to the fund-raising campaign, including companies that work with building construction, demolition, recycling and landfills. To that end, Caterpillar — which, among other products, manufacturers demolition equipment — has given the department $50,000 for the program.
"We have a responsibility to produce quality equipment for safe use, but we also have a responsibility to be a leader in the field," said Neil LeBlanc, industry manager at Caterpillar's headquarters in Peoria, Ill. "The companies we work with have repeatedly told us of their need for a skilled, educated workforce. We have a responsibility to respond to those needs in any way we can."
The demolition specialization is one of two new specialties that the Department of Building Construction Management has begun this year. A health care construction program also began in the fall semester, and several companies have come together to pledge $1.5 million to help start a program in reconstruction and restoration. Purdue's programs in each are the first in the country.