CEE looks to the future with fundraising campaign

CEE students work on research projects, such as this bridge designing team, as a major component of their education. (27K JPG)

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has launched an ambitious fundraising campaign with a goal of raising a total of $25 million within a decade. The aim of the campaign is to place the department among the top 10 civil and environmental engineering programs in the country. The department currently ranks 15th, according to the 2002 national survey by U.S. News & World Report.

"We're excited about this campaign, and what it will mean for the future of our department, said Erhard Joeres, chairman of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. "We want to reach out to as many of our alumni, friends, and supporters as possible to make it a success."

The department is well on its way to achieving its fund-raising goal. So far, the campaign has netted $12 million in donations or deferred gifts, according to Jeffrey S. Russell, professor of civil and environmental engineering and chairman of the department's Development Committee.

Donations will go toward five primary areas:

• Endowed professorships. The department has created three named professorships, with the goal to fill them with nationally prominent faculty. The professorships are named in honor of three of the department's best-known professors — C.K. Wang, Paul Wolf and Charles Salmon.
• Endowed graduate student fellowships. The department wants to create 10 fellowships, funded at $500,000 each, to attract top graduate students to UW-Madison, and provide funds for their research and scholarly activities.
• Laboratory enhancement. Like any endeavor that marries research and technology, civil and environmental engineering requires up-to-date tools and labs. Donations will make sure the department can upgrade its labs and provide faculty and students with the equipment they need.
• Student activity funds. Donations will allow students to participate in professional meetings and student competitions — a key component of their educational experience.
• Program enhancement funds. Donations will be used for departmental activities such as funding trips to national conferences and meetings, hosting lecture series, and supporting collaborative efforts between the department and industry.

Russell said he hopes to achieve full funding of the three endowed professorships and the graduate fellowships in the next five years. The department wants to achieve its $25 million fund-raising goal by 2012, he said.

Russell said the goal of the campaign is to plan for the next generation of civil and environmental engineers. The department should play a leading role in helping to develop clean air and water initiatives, more durable materials, less vulnerable buildings, better and more cost-effective building programs, and designs that sustain themselves well into the 21st Century. A global and digital world economy will demand cutting-edge research and thinking, he added.

"We all have a stake in the future of our department, and its mission of training tomorrow's leaders in civil and environmental engineering," Russell said. "The world is changing rapidly, and the research and training we provide will make sure we're at the forefront of those changes. This campaign will ensure that our department is among the leaders nationally in meeting that challenge."

Recent negotiations over the University of Wisconsin's state budget appropriation highlight the need for the department's fundraising campaign. Departments throughout the university are faced with sizable budget cuts. In civil and environmental engineering, state support amounts to $2.2 million annually — enough to support faculty salaries and some support staff. But state support fails to adequately provide for graduate student recruitment and fellowships, laboratory modernization, and support for faculty leadership training.

Department faculty and staff have been working closely with staff from the University of Wisconsin Foundation, as well as the CEE department's visiting committee, in planning the campaign. The department plans to hold fundraising events tied to the campaign in the coming year. In addition, CEE alumni will be sent detailed information this fall about how they can participate in the fundraising campaign.

"This is a bold and ambitious effort," Joeres said. "But we plan to make it a successful one and make a strong department even better."