UK College of Engineering Employee Giving Campaign Raises Over $90,000

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 3, 2016) — The University of Kentucky College of Engineering has announced that its faculty and staff have raised $94,342.17 in its inaugural employee giving campaign, easily exceeding the pre-campaign goal of $60,000. Further, the campaign achieved its objective of 25 percent participation among the faculty and staff. The fundraising initiative, named “PI: Participate & Inspire,” was led by a committee of entirely volunteer faculty and staff.

“For our college to get this kind of participation in our first employee giving campaign is astounding,” Dean John Walz said. “But it shows how much our faculty and staff believe in the work we are doing. Helping students earn an engineering education is something we can all take pride in.”

“Dean Walz and the College of Engineering faculty and staff are to be commended for their tireless and enthusiastic commitment to philanthropy at the University of Kentucky,” affirmed Mike Richey, vice president for philanthropy. “The college’s employee giving campaign is a perfect example of how we can further our efforts developing a culture of philanthropy at UK. We congratulate the college on this successful effort and encourage other colleges, centers and units at UK to follow Engineering’s leadership.”

The campaign officially commenced March 25 with “pie socials” in each department and ended April 15. A celebration event took place on May 2 where the final giving tallies were announced. Faculty and staff giving to the campaign were able to designate their gifts to the program of their choice.

Prior to the campaign, several faculty and staff members openly shared why they were already financial supporters of the college.

“Thanks to my experience in the civil engineering program, I was able to jump right into a challenging career. Supporting the college now is a way for me to honor my roots — the people and program that taught me to succeed,” said Samantha Wright, a lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering.

Kozo Saito, Tennessee Valley Authority Professor in Mechanical Engineering and director for the UK Institute of Research for Technology Development, explained his gift in terms of personal responsibility. “I strongly believe in Joseph Mulley’s quote, ‘Service to society is the rent we pay for living on this planet.’ To me, giving back to the college is the same as the rent that Joseph Mulley believes we should pay.”

The PI campaign was coordinated through the College of Engineering Office of Advancement.

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Harder, 859-323-2396, whitney.harder@uky.edu