Contact: Dale Dombrowski
A Huntsville, Ala.-based manufacturer of high-speed digital transmission products is doubling its scholarship support to Mississippi State University.
ADTRAN Inc., which in 1999 established an endowed scholarship in the College of Engineering, now is providing an additional $55,000 for scholarships, said Dennis A. Prescott, MSU vice president for external affairs.
The gift increases to $110,000 the company's total scholarship commitment. Prescott said the gift would support an additional scholarship for a full-time MSU student majoring in electrical, computer or mechanical engineering.
Computer engineering major Daniel A. Nagle is the first ADTRAN Scholar. The Gulf Breeze, Fla., sophomore is receiving a total of $2,500 during the 2000-01 school year.
MSU graduates, including the company's founders and its division general manager and vice president of engineering, make up a quarter of the more than 300 ADTRAN engineering staff members.
"The ADTRAN scholarships are an important resource to the College of Engineering as we prepare engineers who can lead in this country's technical revolution," said Dean A. Wayne Bennett.
Also, many Mississippi State engineering majors currently participating in the university's cooperative education program are alternating semesters of study on the Starkville campus with practical work experience at the Huntsville company, Bennett added.
"We're proud of the relationships our campus is establishing with this industry leader," he said.