CampaignPriorities

Faculty and Professorships

What's so special about an endowed chair? It's not just the money. After all, universities routinely spend a good deal to hire very smart, very qualified faculty. What difference could it make if the dollars come from an endowment or the general fund?

A big difference, as it turns out. Endowed chairs are a lure for leading academics, and their benefits to a university go far beyond the actual day-to-day accomplishments of the chairholder.

Thanks to a gift from Michigan Tech alumnus Dick Robbins '56 and his wife, Bonnie, two distinguished researchers were named to sustainability chairs. Rolf Peterson, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, holds the Robbins Chair in Sustainable Management of the Environment. Craig Friedrich, Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, holds the Robbins Chair in Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

"Dick and Bonnie Robbins recognize that our students’ understanding of the fragile nature of the world around them depends on their direct experience with today's environmental challenges, both in the classroom and in research," said Michigan Tech President Glenn D. Mroz.

Scholarships and Fellowships

With state funding declining over the years, students rely more and more on privately-funded scholarships and fellowships to be able to afford higher education. When donors create a scholarship for undergraduates or a fellowship for graduate students with the Michigan Tech Fund, they know that they have made it possible for another student to pursue a higher education at Michigan Tech. These students could not be more grateful to those who provide them with this great opportunity.

Academic and Student Programs

Goal: $70 million

Michigan Tech must grow from its strengths, and that includes academic and student programs that provide an exceptional educational experience. Whether sustaining a single student or a team, a scholarship or an undergraduate research project; the transformative experience of a Michigan Tech education is worthy of support.

Campus Facilities

Goal: $20 million

The University requires room to grow, too. The bright students and innovative faculty require buildings, classrooms, and laboratories to match.

New Buildings

New buildings improve the functionality of campus and allow Michigan Tech to progress as an international research university. The Great Lakes Research Center will soon be under construction and will combine the University’s waterfront location with its tradition of environmental sciences research and scholarship.

Upgrading Labs and Classrooms

New laboratories are essential for education at the cutting edge. Whether exploring multimedia vehicles, complex algorithms, structural properties of wood, or global business processes, undergraduate and graduate students must have access to the latest tools for investigation. Similarly, classrooms must reflect tomorrow’s capabilities for teaching and learning, such as the new Fisher Hall facilities.

Campus Beautification

First impressions are important, and the University is no different. To that end, Michigan Tech must continue to improve the appearance of the campus environs. Vegetation, signing, and structural ambience all contribute to our image and a better on-campus experience for all.

Annual Fund

Goal: $10 million

The Michigan Tech Annual Fund is dedicated to securing crucial, unrestricted contributions that benefit the University in a number of ways. Annual Fund support may be directed to the University’s main unrestricted account or they may be directed to a particular academic department, as each department has its own unrestricted account.

Your gift to the Michigan Tech Annual Fund helps the University

• educate highly qualified students through innovative programs, 
• recruit some of the nation’s top faculty,
• attract substantial research funding,
• provide first-class laboratory and classroom facilities, and
• maintain its national ranking.

To make your Annual Fund gift today, go to our online gift form or learn about other methods for making a cash gift.