Chairman of Greenheck Fan Corporation Endows Engineering Chair Released: May 8, 2006 Robert C. Greenheck, Chairman Emeritus of the board and co-founder of Greenheck Fan Corporation in Schofield, Wis., has endowed a faculty chair for Marquette University’s College of Engineering, President Robert Wild, S.J., announced Monday. The $5 million endowment will create the Robert C. Greenheck Chair in Engineering Design to emphasize the importance of design and problem-solving activities throughout the college’s four-year curriculum. Greenheck, a 1950 mechanical engineering graduate, said his Marquette education was “a critical element in the success” of his company, which is America’s leading manufacturer of ventilation equipment. Greenheck Fan Corporation has sales in excess of $350 million annually, employs more than 2,200 persons and has more than 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing space at facilities in Schofield, Minneapolis, Sacramento, Frankfort, Ky., Somerville, Tenn., and Kunshan, China. “This splendid gift provides both continued momentum and improved resources for the transformation of student learning in our College of Engineering,” Wild said. “It is an example of the long-lasting impact a Marquette education has on our alumni and emphasizes the importance the university places upon faculty recruitment and development.” Stanley Jaskolski, Opus Dean of Engineering, said the endowed chair is crucial to the development of the college’s enhanced curriculum. “We are focusing on two things: the essential skills of an engineer and the essential characteristics of an engineer,” he said. “The essential skills of design and communication include the ability to identify market opportunities that define the form, features and function of a potential product and the ability to generate multiple alternative solutions. The essential characteristics of an engineer are associated with effective teamwork and leadership.” Jaskolski also emphasized the important role the Greenheck Chair will have in interfacing with the business community and strengthening the College of Engineering’s connection to commerce. In receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Engineering in 2004, Greenheck counseled young engineers to be willing to take chances. That philosophy fits well with the intent of the enhanced engineering curriculum, Jaskolski said. The Robert C. Greenheck Chair will lead a multidisciplinary team of faculty members charged with creating active learning opportunities for students by having them apply the traditional engineering curriculum’s theoretical knowledge base to real-world problems, such as modeling, uncertainty and resource constraints. “We believe this will enable our graduates to make an immediate contribution to industrial innovation,” Jaskolski said. The Robert C. Greenheck Chair of Engineering Design is the second $5 million endowment for Marquette’s College of Engineering in the past three years. The Opus Corporation, a Minnesota company providing architectural, construction and real estate development services in 40 markets nationwide, previously endowed the chair held by Jaskolski. ### Office of Marketing and Communication Contacts Mary Pat Pfeil Senior Director of University Communication Phone: (414) 288-4719 Send e-mail Brigid O'Brien Miller Director of University Communication Phone: (414) 288-7445 Send e-mail