Governor John Engler praised Bob and Ellen Thompson for their $3,570,812 gift to create the Thompson Scholars Program at Michigan Tech. This groundbreaking scholarship program will integrate traditional undergraduate education with hands-on experience in a pavement enterprise program on campus. Ultimately, it could serve as a model for similar programs nationwide, resulting in better roads built with better materials at lower cost.
Bob Thompson, who was appointed by Engler to the Board of Control in 1997, made headlines last year when he gave $128 million to his former employees after selling the business he founded, Thompson-McCully Asphalt Company. Thompson-McCully is one of Michigan's largest asphalt and paving contractors.
The Thompson Scholars Program will ultimately support 100 students with full-tuition, in-state scholarships to MTU. The gift also funds up to six graduate student assistants, equipment, and other costs associated with program development and operations.
"Bob Thompson's gift to Michigan Tech is not just a scholarship; it's a new way of doing business," Engler said. "I'm proud to have him serving on the Board of Control. This program will result in top-notch graduates with the latest skills and knowledge working on future Michigan road programs."
By underwriting this new approach to education, Thompson aims to fundamentally change the nature of undergraduate engineering education for his scholarship recipients. The program's unique element will be the Thompson Scholars Pavement Design, Construction, and Materials Enterprise. Teams of approximately thirty students will form a pseudo-engineering company on campus that mimics a real-life paving firm, with a particular emphasis on asphalt pavement. Through the enterprise, Thompson Scholars will gain experience on real-world projects, from developing budgets to solving engineering problems. They will also work as summer interns, gaining valuable experience in the field.
Associate Professor George Dewey (Civil and Environmental Engineering) will direct the Thompson Scholars enterprise. "This is an incredible opportunity to help students while improving our program," he said. "The enterprise program is dramatically different from the traditional approach to educating undergraduates. Instead of asking students to come up with the 'right' answer, it starts with open-ended problems, in this case, pavement design, construction, and materials, and asks students to work on the constant challenge of creating better performance at lower cost."
"Our graduates will be leaving here with an education that's different from students who follow a conventional engineering curriculum," he said.
A group of distinguished representatives from industry will advise the program. "The students' success will be judged as much by industry as by the faculty, and our success as faculty will be judged by industry," Dewey said.
President Curt Tompkins said the program will have several key outcomes. "Deserving students will realize their full potential," he said. "Graduates will be qualified far beyond their peers at other institutions. And regardless of their academic backgrounds, they will have a greater understanding of and appreciation for the transportation industry and its unique needs and challenges."
"Finally, industry and the Michigan Department of Transportation will have access to the best graduates, as well as to innovative solutions to pavement design, construction, and materials challenges," Tompkins said. "We are tremendously grateful to Bob and Ellen Thompson for making this all possible."
"I'm fortunate to be able to do this," Thompson said. "I'm the lucky one, to be in a position to change the world a little bit."
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02/16/00