ASME responds to Virginia Tech tragedy with gift, scholarship

Judith Kearney
ASME Foundation

Thoughts of the tragic events at Virginia Tech on April 16 linger on, and to so many in the engineering community, they echo devastating losses. Much has been said about lives cut short, the promise of bright futures gone, and the sorrow of those left to sort out their grief. For many of those who survived, as for so many families, lives have been changed forever.

The loss of life is overwhelming, and cost to the engineering community is in many ways vast. It is impossible to measure the loss to the future, the loss of young lives with so much potential for major contributions to the world of engineering, and the loss of mature, experienced professors to lead the way for their promise. ASME has responded to the tragedy in a very substantial manner — a contribution of $50,000 comprising a gift to the university and the creation of a scholarship for the school's graduate students.

After consultation with Richard Benson, dean of Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, ASME has made a gift of $25,000 to be used for short-term critical needs within the university community.

In an effort to address the longer-term needs of the university and its students, the Society will also give the ASME Foundation $25,000 to establish the ASME/VT Memorial Scholarship Fund to benefit graduate students in engineering at the university.

A campaign to raise additional funds for the scholarship will kick off at the Summer Annual Meeting in Toronto, where donors will wear maroon awareness ribbons to show their support of the challenge. All ASME members, volunteers, and staff are invited to participate with a gift in any amount. The campaign will continue back at headquarters following SAM and run through June 30, 2007. Contributions may be made online by going to http://foundation.asme.org/Donate/
Virginia_Tech_Memorial.cfm.

The ASME Foundation will use the funds raised to set up an endowment fund to support the ASME/VT Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will offer graduate level scholarships at Virginia Tech in perpetuity.

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