Wertheim makes $50 million donation to UF College of Engineering

[Gator88NE]

Dr. Herbert Wertheim, a UF alumnus, philanthropist and entrepreneur who invented the UV coating for sunglasses, among other things, made a $50 million cash donation to the college, President Kent Fuchs announced in a tweet Sunday.
…
It is the second largest single donation to UF in recent history. Al and Judy Warrington last year made a $75 million donation to the Warrington College of Business Administration, which also made them the university’s first $100 million donors.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20150928/ARTICLES/150929709

[Zinhead]

Cool. Many thanks to Dr. Wertheim for the donation.

[Gator88NE]

The details will be shared on Thursday at the launch…

UF has also setup a website, counting down to the announcement. (#werththewait)

https://www.eng.ufl.edu/werththewait/

Dear Faculty, Staff & Students,

I am delighted to inform you that we are about to launch the greatest expansion in the 105-year history of the UF College of Engineering. This expansion will be catalyzed by a $50M gift from Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim and the Wertheim Family Foundation. Please join me, President Fuchs, Provost Glover and our very special guests, Herbie and Nicole, this Thursday, October 1st for a celebration and an announcement. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to gather at 10a.m. just outside Weil Hall, at the corner of Gale Lemerand Drive and Stadium Road to participate in this momentous occasion.

Best Regards,

Cammy​
Cammy R. Abernathy
Dean, College of Engineering
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

[Gator88NE]

Details on UF’s college of engineering $300 million campaign. I’ve added some comments in [color=red]red[/color=red]

With a $50 million catalyst gift from Dr. Herbert & Nicole Wertheim and the Dr. Herbert & Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation, the college has embarked on a $300 million public-private partnership that will leverage support from the state, the university and from private donors, resulting in the biggest transformation in our 105-year history.

Investments

People
Increase tenure and tenure-track faculty to 300, expanding in key research areascolor=red[/color=red]
https://www.eng.ufl.edu/research/strategic-research-areas/
Invest in endowed chairs and professorships
Retain our best students with scholarships and fellowships

Places
80,000 ft2 Engineering Innovation Nexus Building [link]
120,000 ft2 headquarters for IT research & education

Programs
Offer leadership and innovation classes to every student in the college
Adapt programs for more experiential learning and interdisciplinary research

[size=30]Impact[/size=30]

Student Population
Enroll 10,000 engineering students within five years – a 34% increase

Economic Development
More startups, patents and technology licenses. More investors attracted to Florida for our unique talent pipeline

Diversity & Inclusion
More women, veterans and under-represented minorities working in engineering fields

Research Funding
Raise research funding to $100 million per year color=red[/color=red]

https://www.eng.ufl.edu/about/transformation/

[overworried]

This is very exciting as an aspiring Gator engineer