Contact: Maridith Geuder
A major gift from the Robert M. Hearin Foundation of Jackson is supporting undergraduate and graduate education at Mississippi State University's College of Engineering.
A four-year $4.6 million gift will enable the college to enhance instruction and move forward in national competitiveness, said Mississippi State President Donald W. Zacharias.
"Nearly a decade ago, I had the good fortune to meet Bob Hearin and learn from him personally about his dream for excellence in Mississippi higher education," Zacharias said. "This latest gift is a further tribute to the original vision that Mr. Hearin had for excellence. Gifts like this are what bring unique opportunities to students and greatness to a university."
Robert M. Hearin Sr., the chairman and CEO of Mississippi Valley Gas Co. in Jackson until his death in 1992, made provisions in his will to establish the Hearin Foundation. It provides support primarily to the state universities and colleges and promotes economic development in Mississippi.
The funds will allow Mississippi State to enhance existing engineering programs and introduce new ones that prepare students to be proficient in computational skills, cross-disciplinary thinking, communication, entrepreneurial capabilities, and global awareness, said Dean of Engineering A. Wayne Bennett.
"Our planned enhancements are based on national studies of engineering education," he said. "There have been profound changes in the engineering workplace in recent years. More than 70 percent of companies operating today are less than 25 years old."
Industry has been calling for changes in engineering education for nearly a decade, said Dr. John Prados, senior education associate for engineering education at the National Science Foundation.
"This grant will give Mississippi State's College of Engineering an opportunity to implement changes to ensure the highest quality engineering education," he said. "It will allow the up-front investment in faculty members and programs for active and collaborative learning important today. The university will be among those adopting a new model of learning."
Technological advances and global competitiveness require that students be prepared to lead the companies of the future, Bennett said.
"The Hearin Foundation gift will help us prepare students for a changing world and help our students and Mississippi industries compete in the emerging global marketplace," Bennett said. "We will focus programs on technologies that are relevant to the needs of Mississippi and that have the potential for significant economic impact."
Another focus of the enhancements will be outreach, he continued. "By involving our faculty and students in relevant, real-world problems, we help our state's industries and at the same time provide ideal learning conditions. Our state can become a learning laboratory for our students."
Among enhancements and new programs:
--A new program to assure that engineering students have the computational expertise they need for the workplace of the future. The program will be carried out with technical expertise from the university's National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Computational Field Simulation.
--Design courses, particularly at the senior level, will be restructured to emphasize cross-disciplinary projects and computational-based design.
--Cooperation with the English and communication departments to integrate communication skills into all engineering courses.
--Development of partnerships with companies known for entrepreneurial approaches, including establishment of an executive-in-residence program and a visiting lecture program in cooperation with the College of Business and Industry.
--Establishment of a Study Abroad program that includes an expanded international cooperative education program and the development of international internships.
--Expansion of technology transfer efforts, focusing on the development of certification programs in new and emerging technologies.
"To my knowledge, these projects supported by the Hearin Foundation provide the first comprehensive plan for addressing national issues on a broad scale," Bennett concluded. "I am excited about the opportunities the Hearin grant will bring to our students and am committed to making a difference in our state."