Participate in programs and initiatives that will establish the Cockrell School as a leader in cross-disciplinary, collaborative research designed to address global problems in the areas of energy, health and sustainability.
"Opportunity Funds" give the Dean and departmental chairs the power to make strategic decisions to enhance our education mission. You can invest in the Cockrell School’s programs and research by providing gifts for immediate use or by creating an Excellence Fund – an endowment which provides funding for the most promising or pressing initiatives in perpetuity.
Establishing an Endowed Excellence Fund
"Opportunity for Excellence Funds", endowed at a minimum of $100,000 enable the Dean, department chairs and program coordinators to support initiatives that have an immediate impact. Distributions from endowments support seed grants for proof of principle projects, faculty recruiting, student scholarships or fellowships, lab enhancements and student organizations. Opportunity for Excellence Funds are named according to the donor’s wishes and are promoted any time funds are used from that endowment.
“The Department of Chemical Engineering was fortunate to hire three top faculty candidates last year because I was able to use the distribution from multiple Endowed Excellence Funds to put together competitive start-up packages.” – Dr. Roger Bonnecaze, Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering
“Endowed Excellence Funds are a critical tool for program directors as we plan for the year. Within the Women in Engineering Program (WEP), we have been able to forecast our student support activities thanks to the funding we know we will receive from Endowed Excellence Funds. Donors who believe in this kind of philanthropy are among the most selfless - we appreciate beyond words their faith in our organization.” – Tricia Berry, ChE 1993, Director, Women in Engineering Program
Investing in Engineering Research
To complement, unify and strengthen the School’s research efforts, philanthropic investments in research help attract exceptional students and top scholars, foster relationship-based corporate partnerships and produce research that garners national attention.
Examples of ways you can support Cockrell School research initiatives:
- Establish a $500,000 endowment which each year will provide funds to develop new research initiatives to address grand challenges in energy supply and demand through technology advances, talent development, education, and policy.
- A “seed grant” of $40,000 to support a proof of principle project in Biomedical Engineering which will collect the data needed to then apply for a proposal to the National Institutes of Health for ten times, or more, of the initial seed grant. These seed grants have led to huge successes for young faculty.
- At any gift level, support interdisciplinary research initiatives that use faculty expertise and create learning opportunities for students.
To learn more about establishing an Endowed Excellence Fund or investing in engineering research, please call the Engineering Development Office at (512) 471-3395.
