December 20, 2007
News View Article
United States Steel Foundation Awards Pitt $605,000 in GrantsGift bolsters the University's scholarship initiative with $500,000 endowment
PITTSBURGH-The United States Steel Foundation has awarded the
University of Pittsburgh grants totaling $605,000 to support a number
of student-based initiatives. The major portion of these funds-
$500,000-will be used to establish five new endowed scholarships to
support two students each from Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering and
College of Business Administration and one student majoring either in
information technology in the School of Information Sciences or
computer science in the School of Arts and Sciences. Each recipient
will earn the distinction of being a U.S. Steel Scholar.
In
addition, the foundation will provide $100,000 to update the teaching
laboratory used for undergraduate classes that teach measurement and
instrumentation in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and
Materials Science within the Swanson School of Engineering. The
improvements are part of the ongoing building and renovation program at
Benedum Hall, the academic and administrative home of the Swanson
School.
Finally, the Roberto Clemente Minority Business
Association-which provides academic support, professional development
programs, and volunteer and social activities for underrepresented
undergraduate students in Pitt's College of Business
Administration-will receive $5,000 from the foundation.
“One of
the cornerstones of Pitt's $2 billion Building Our Future Together
campaign is an initiative to increase significantly the number of
endowed student scholarships throughout the University while providing
the best possible learning environment for our students,” said Pitt
Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. “This grant is, therefore, an especially
welcome gift for which we are extremely appreciative.”
Susan
Suver, U.S. Steel's vice president of human resources said, “This grant
is a reaffirmation of the importance of our commitment to growing
bright, motivated people for the workforce of the future.”
Headquartered
in Pittsburgh, U.S. Steel is the largest fully integrated steel
producer in North America. The company's long relationship with the
University of Pittsburgh is a historic one that dates back to 1926,
when U.S. Steel donated 7,142 tons of steel used in the construction of
the Cathedral of Learning. The gift, conservatively valued at $250,000
in 1926, was one of the first recorded examples of corporate
philanthropic support of higher education.
Since then, U.S.
Steel has supported Pitt in numerous ways, including the establishment
of the U.S. Steel Dean's Chair in the Swanson School of Engineering and
the David Roderick Chair in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of
Business. The corporation supports research in the School of Arts and
Sciences and the Swanson School of Engineering, including a close
association with Pitt's Basic Metals Processing Research Institute in
the Swanson School. Employees and executive leaders from the company
have served in numerous volunteer roles at the University, including
leadership positions on Pitt's Board of Trustees: Until June 2007, for
instance, Thomas J. Usher, U.S. Steel's former chief executive officer,
was chair of Pitt's $2 billion capital campaign. In addition, U.S.
Steel provides Pitt students with co-op and internship opportunities
through its Student Employment Program.
