$10 Million Gift to Advance Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon

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Feb 26, 2019, 11:01 ET

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- An entrepreneurial idea to expand training for 21st-century careers has sparked a $10 million gift to support mechanical engineering at the Carnegie Mellon University.

Carnegie Mellon Trustee and alumnus David Coulter and his wife, Susan Coulter, have made the transformational commitment that will endow the headship for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as well as support the construction of a new Scaife Hall, which will house the department. The endowment to support the department head will provide critical funds for emerging priorities in mechanical engineering, and is the first endowed headship announced in the college. The department is ranked in the top 10 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, which also places the College of Engineering at No. 6.

"David and Susan have been outstanding university citizens for decades," CMU President Farnam Jahanian said. "Their latest act of generosity that will benefit the Carnegie Mellon community promises to advance one of our leading programs — one that is driving manufacturing innovations for our modern world."

A positive collaboration around high-tech training for manufacturing careers between the Tepper School of Business alumnus and mechanical engineering faculty became the foundation for the Coulters' generous gift.

"At Carnegie Mellon, we often speak about how our strengths in deep disciplinary knowledge truly take flight when we collaborate across disciplines," Coulter said. "I feel like we're doing that real-time with this project, and I see our involvement as an alumni prototype for these cross-disciplinary projects. We're proud to support both the Tepper School of Business as well as the College of Engineering, and am excited to see what the Mechanical Engineering Department will achieve."

The Coulters' commitment to a new Scaife Hall follows a lead grant from the Allegheny Foundation in October. When complete, the new building will more than double the size of the existing building, and will include expanded, technology-rich labs; modern, flexible classrooms; and spaces that facilitate formal and informal collaborations. Following demolition of the current building, the $75 million facility will be constructed on an expanded footprint at the same location on Frew Street, near Flagstaff Hill on the CMU campus.

Read the full release here.

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University