$1M Societal Engineering Endowed Fund Supports Transformative Programs
The Technology Innovation Scholars Program is one of the initiatives supported by the Societal Engineering Endowed Fund.
When Kenneth R. Lutchen assumed the deanship of the College of Engineering in 2006, he soon introduced his concept of creating the Societal Engineer – that individual who uses the unique skills and training of the engineer to advance society. The idea quickly took root among the College community and the phrase “Boston University Creating the Societal Engineer” was even awarded a trademark by the US Patent Office.
Now, the curricular and extracurricular programs that support the Societal Engineer will be backed in perpetuity by the $1 million-and-growing Societal Engineering Endowed Fund. Infused with gifts from alumni, parents and friends of the College, the fund will ensure that existing programs will receive on-going, reliable support and potential new ones can be launched.
The fund is important because these programs go beyond what tuition alone can support, and they now have a dedicated funding source. Indeed, to support the full range of societal engineering experiential activities, Dean Lutchen hopes to grow the fund to $2 million.
“These programs have become so popular with our students that I realized we need to make them a systematic part of the student experience,” Lutchen said. “The Societal Engineering Endowed Fund will insure a minimum level of support for many existing programs and allow us to think about new initiatives in the future as we grow the fund.”
Among the programs supported by the Societal Engineering Endowed Fund are:
- The Technology Innovation Scholars Program (TISP), which sends carefully selected and trained undergraduates into middle and high schools nationally to inspire young people with the possibilities of an engineering career.
- Technology Innovation Concentration, which merges engineering innovation with business skills taught by Questrom School of Business faculty.
- The Imagineering Competition, which encourages students to get creative with extracurricular engineering projects in the Singh Imagineering Lab.
- Societal Impact Capstone Project Award, a prize for interdisciplinary Senior Design Projects with an emphasis on societal impact.
- Engineers in the Real World, a program that brings ENG alumni from a variety of fields into the classroom to explain to students how an engineering degree can be leveraged into a career in many professions.
- BU chapter of Engineers Without Borders, which provides students with the chance to work on real-world issues in resource-limited environments.
“The College is extremely grateful to the many donors and foundations who have provided support for its Societal Engineering programs, whether by contributing to the Societal Engineering Endowed Fund, establishing individual named endowed funds and/or providing gifts for current use or capital projects,” said Lutchen. “Their generosity has helped propel the College on its successful upward trajectory over the past decade.”