October 29, 2007
Generac Power Systems, Inc. founder gives $15 million to transform engineering education at Marquette
Robert Kern, founder of Generac Power Systems, Inc., and his wife Patricia today announced a personal gift of $15 million to Marquette University’s College of Engineering to help transform engineering education. The money will go toward the construction of a new engineering building called the Discovery Learning Complex.
The Discovery Learning Complex, when completed, will integrate classrooms, teaching labs, research facilities and office space to encourage hands-on, multidisciplinary learning and collaboration aimed at developing the 21st century workforce and meeting the demands of industry. The projected cost estimate for the facility, which will be built between 16th and 17th streets on the south side of Wisconsin Avenue, is $100 million.
“The Kerns have long recognized the important role science, technology, engineering and mathematics education play in the future of our community – and our country,” said Stan Jaskolski, Opus Dean of Engineering at Marquette. “Their generosity brings us closer to the dream of a new building that will blend theory and the real-world practice of research and development. This will help us achieve our ultimate goal of attracting more women and men to engineering at a time when the need is so prevalent.”
Jaskolski said a 2002 donation from the Kerns to create the Discovery Learning Center, a hands-on learning lab in the current college, was the catalyst to Marquette changing its engineering curriculum. The proposed new building will build upon the principles incorporated into this lab, including giving students the opportunity to design practical solutions to real engineering problems.
“We are pleased to be a part of this exciting commitment by the Marquette University College of Engineering,” said Robert and Patricia Kern. “It is compatible with our belief that future generations will be increasingly dependent on expanding science and engineering technology by talented, educated engineers.”
Robert Kern retired in 2006, selling his share of the company that he founded in a rented garage in Wales, Wis., in 1959. Since stepping down as chairman of Generac, he and his wife have focused on their philanthropy, with a keen interest in engineering education. They are leading proponents of Project Lead the Way, a national engineering program for middle and high school students geared toward generating interest in engineering prior to college. The Kern Family Foundation provides grants to public and private schools in Wisconsin to implement Project Lead the Way; more than 100 schools now offer such programs.
Marquette is one of five Wisconsin universities and colleges partnering in Project Lead the Way, working with teachers and students to better understand engineering principles by hosting sessions on campus and having Marquette students and faculty visit participating schools. The College of Engineering has enrolled 13 students who participated in Project Lead the Way. Marquette offers $1,000 scholarships to students who participate in the program and enroll in the College of Engineering.
The Kerns’ gift is the second eight-figure gift to the College of Engineering in the past year. In December 2006, the college received an anonymous donation of $25 million made to act as a “spark plug” to help transform the engineering school. The benefactors also pledged $1 million annually in perpetuity if such a transformation continues.
Marquette has the largest College of Engineering of any Catholic university in the country. The college is aggressively working to transform engineering education and develop leaders for the 21st century workforce through the construction of a new facility, endowed faculty chairs and endowed student scholarships. Jaskolski said with the Kern gift, alumni and friends have contributed approximately $60 million toward the $150 million goal to support these initiatives.
$50,000 additional support for Entrepreneurial Engineering
The Kern Family Foundation recently donated $50,000 to the College of Engineering to participate in the Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network to develop “Student Transformation through Innovation Exercises.” Engineering professors, in conjunction with the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship housed in Marquette’s College of Business Administration, will design exercises for students to develop the skills and personal characteristics important to innovative design and the ability to recognize and quickly act on commercial opportunities.
Rev. Douglas Leonhardt, S.J.
Christopher Miller, J.D., Ph.D.
Wally Mason
Dr. Abdur Chowdhury
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