The University raised $1,655,703,867 in cash and pledges
during Campaign Minnesota, its seven-year fund-raising
effort. The campaign, which surpassed its original goal
of $1.3 billion, is the second most successful fund-raising
campaign of any public university in the nation. The
final year of the campaign, which ended June 30, brought
in $234 million in gifts and pledges, the most ever
raised in a single year.
More than 220,000 individuals, foundations and other
organizations contributed to the campaign. Of that number,
113,000 were first-time donors to the University. Nearly
13,000 donors—more than 9,000 of them alumni—gave
a total of $158 million to IT.
About half the total amount raised, or $683 million,
was designated by donors for endowment, surpassing the
campaign's endowment goal of $540 million. Private support
provides about 12 percent of the University’s
revenues each year, and about 98 percent of all gifts
are designated for specific uses by donors. Read
more..
Swimming experiment draws international
media attention
Media outlets across the U.S. and Canada carried the
story of a unique fluid mechanics experiment conducted
last
month
by chemical
engineering and materials science professor Ed
Cussler. A former competitive swimmer, Cussler
enlisted the help of varsity swimmers and other volunteers
to determine
which factor has a greater effect on swimming speed:
propulsive force of the arms or drag created by the
body. The athletes swam the length of a 25-yard pool
that was filled with a mixture of chlorinated water
and guar, a bean extract used to thicken products like
ice cream and shampoo. The athletes then swam the same
distance in a water-filled pool.
Twin Cities newspapers and television stations, the Associated
Press, CNN, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation are just
a few of the media organizations that ran the story. Inventing
Tomorrow will include a feature article about the experiment
in the fall 2003 issue. Listen to an interview
that aired on the CBC's “As It Happens” and
read CNN's
story.
Former U VP William Shepherd dies
at 92
Former University vice president and IT associate
dean William Shepherd (Electrical ’33,
Physics Ph.D. ’37), died September 5 at Fairview-University
Medical Center, Minneapolis. He was 92.
Born in Fort William, Ontario, Shepherd immigrated
to the U.S. with his family as a child. After graduating
from the University, Shepherd worked at Bell Telephone
Laboratories for 10 years. In 1947 he joined the University's
electrical engineering faculty and went on to serve
as IT associate dean, electrical engineering department
head, University vice president for academic affairs,
director of the Physical Electronics Laboratory (a
unit he founded), and director of the Space Science
Center. In 1979. the year he retired, Shepherd received
the University's Outstanding Achievement Award, the
highest award given to alumni. Shepherd Laboratories
is named in his honor. Read
more...
IT Mentor Program needs you
Share your knowledge and experience with IT students
who are looking for mentors. The IT
Mentor Program matches students with professionals
in science, math, and engineering fields. Mentors are
needed in all fields, but the demand for mentors in
chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and biotech
fields is especially high.
Students meet with mentors to prepare for the transition
from an academic environment to the professional world.
Activities include networking, sharing ideas, touring
a company, attending professional meetings, discussing
career strategies, and reviewing resumes. Time commitment
is two hours per month from October through April. Training
and guidance is provided. Register by September 30.
For more information contact Kris Kosek at 612-626-8282.
IT Parents Organization donates funds to aid student
programs
During fiscal year 2003 IT parents raised $10,000 to
support programs that offer students professional and
educational opportunities outside the classroom. IT
Career Services will receive $2,500 to purchase
materials for its resource center; IT Student Affairs
will receive $2,500 to support study abroad programs;
and the IT Mentor Program
will receive $5,000. Thank you, parents!
Wanted: The Gopher
Those old U of M yearbooks hold precious memories for
University alumni. If no longer need your copies of
The Gopher or if you discover the yearbooks
at a garage sale, please consider donating them to IT.
The development team is creating a Gopher archive
and will add your donation to its collection. For more
information contact Phil Oswald at 612-626-9385.
Honors
The University of Minnesota Alumni Association (UMAA)
presented IT Alumni Society president Jim Clausen
(Aero ’63, M.S. ’65) with its 2002-03
Volunteer of the Year Award at the association's annual
volunteer awards ceremony September 5. Clausen was honored
for his outstanding support of ITAS and the Rochester
Area Alumni and Friends of the UNiversity of Minnesota.
Grant Erickson (Electrical ’96,
M.S. ’65) received the UMAA Rising Star Award
for his enthusiastic leadership of the UMAA's Bay Area
chapter.
The University's student design team placed first
overall in the 2002-03 SiGE Design Challenge
sponsored by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC).
The team
included graduate students Byunghoo Jung
and Jaewon Kim, consultant Philip
Cheung, and Associate Professor Ramesh Harjani,
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The
contest began in July 2002 with 59 teams from across
the world. Winners were announced in late August at
SRC's TECHCON 2003, its biennial student conference.
Read
more...
