GM Leads Support For Advanced Transportation Systems Fund

General Motors Corporation has provided the lead donation to support Rose-Hulman’s new Advanced Transportation Systems (ATS) Fund for student programs that are developing future engineering and technology initiatives.

The donation was part of GM’s annual $50,000 gift to Rose-Hulman under the Key Executive program.  The college is one of only 27 colleges that have the significant relationship with GM.

Chet Huber, president and chief executive officer of OnStar and Rose-Hulman’s GM Key Executive, presented the donation following meetings with students and faculty advisers involved in ATS Fund organizations.

The fund was initiated to help find financial resources and equipment donations for the new Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility project, the Supermileage Vehicle project, the Aerial Robotics Club and Team Rose Motorsports.

“Rose-Hulman's continued commitment to undergraduate excellence in engineering, with an obvious emphasis on both classroom and practical project work, does a wonderful job in preparing graduates to become impact players early in their careers in industry,” Huber stated following his campus visit.  “The cross-discipline teambuilding projects supported by the ATS Fund are definitely providing very valuable opportunities for the students to practice and become comfortable with the kinds of situations that they will absolutely face when they enter a corporate environment.”

Portions of GM’s annual donation are also supporting Rose-Hulman’s student financial aid program and the Admissions Office’s recruiting efforts for women and minority students, and provide continued support for the college’s student chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers and Society of Women Engineers, and Diversity Council.

Rose-Hulman Receives $1 Million Lilly Grant To Recruit And Retain Young Faculty

Rose-Hulman will use a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. to recruit and retain young faculty by providing them with substantial funding to implement innovative projects to enhance undergraduate education at the college.

"These funds will enable Rose-Hulman to launch a Success Grant program whereby non-tenured faculty will be empowered to develop life-changing educational experiences for students," stated Rose-Hulman President John Midgley.

"Rose-Hulman must continue to attract and excite the world's best students," he said. "These students expect to encounter an innovative, exciting educational environment. Rose-Hulman must match their expectations."

The grant is provided through the Endowment's Initiative to Recruit and Retain Intellectual Capital for Indiana Higher Education Institutions. The initiative encouraged Indiana colleges and universities to consider how they can attract or keep more of the brightest and most talented minds in Indiana. The grant amount offered to each college or university was based on the institution's enrollment.

"We believe that the creative enthusiasm that bright and open minds bring to classrooms and labs and community settings can profoundly advance the school's pursuit of excellence," said Sara Cobb, Endowment vice president for education. "In time, we hope that these new strategies will come together to form a critical mass of excellence and innovation that will continue to build momentum - enhancing the reputation of Indiana and improving the quality of life of Indiana citizens in the years ahead," she stated.

"This generous gift from the Lilly Endowment will create a program to insure that innovations by outstanding non-tenured faculty will enhance the reputation of Indiana as a source of technological expertise and top-quality engineering, mathematics and science education," Midgley stated.

Art Western, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, said examples of proposals that would be submitted for Success Grants might include the creation of new laboratories, course development, or the authoring of innovative teaching materials.

"Special consideration will be given to projects based on collaborative efforts among junior faculty from different departments, and projects that have the potential to establish a non-tenured faculty member as a national or world leader in an area of engineering, science or mathematics," he noted.

"Remaining at the leading edge of engineering and science education requires constant innovation and focused improvement," Midgley emphasized.