Alumni Board exceeds funding goal, names student space in Lu MEB

Just over a year since announcing their effort, under the leadership of alumni board president Mark Woodmansee, the MechSE Alumni Board has surpassed their goal of raising $100K towards scholarships and other efforts that support first-generation MechSE students.

Their combined personal and company gifts currently total more than $101K, supporting specific initiatives that include scholarships and mentoring programs for first-generation students, inclusive academic seminars, and other efforts to provide and support educational equality for all students. The funding will help bring an Illinois education and improved opportunities to more deserving students.

In celebration, the board now sponsors a space on the second floor of the Sidney Lu Mechanical Engineering Building to highlight the connections between students and alumni. The MechSE Alumni Board Collaboration Space features a large, illustrated mural as the centerpiece, a plaque identifying the space, and scrolling digital slides showcasing notable quotes from nearly a dozen MechSE alumni.

The mural was designed by University of Illinois graphic design junior Andrea Marquez and represents a variety of the research areas and fields of study MechSE alumni, students, and faculty are engaged in.

MechSE Department Head Tony Jacobi, department faculty and staff, and many members of the board were on hand to dedicate the new space at a ribbon-cutting event on April 11.

“This is a momentous day. Thank you to the donors who helped make this space a possibility and a reality,” said Woodmansee (BSME 1994, MSME 1997, PhD ME 1999). “I’ve had the pleasure of hiring many different people in my career who have gone on and been successful, but I think one of the things that separates MechSE grads from their engineering peers at other universities is their ability to stand up during interviews and go to a white board and visually articulate their thoughts for others, creating pictures, concepts, and ideas that are not too unlike this mural. The creative nature of MechSE grads is bar none. Additionally, this screen here features 11 different alumni who have forged a career, taken the same classes that we’ve taken, but their careers have gone in many, many different directions, and my fellow board members and I hope that as people come through the building, they see this and recognize that when you become a MechSE student and graduate, you don’t become an engineer. You become a problem-solver.

“I hope this is just the beginning. The board would like to build on this, to build other tangible venues to help MechSE become, in whatever way possible, the best it can be. The collaboration between our alumni and our students is really a powerful tool to have.”

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To make a gift toward MechSE’s first-generation student initiatives, visit our online donation form or reach out to Kendra Wolf, Associate Director for Advancement.