UCLA Engineering: UCLA Engineer Spring 2003

A Lasting Impact on the Future
Gifts to UCLA Engineering

By Marlys Amundson

Gifts from the School’s alumni and friends have a tremendous impact on our ability to provide the finest engineering education available and to support original, groundbreaking research by our faculty and students. Last year, the School received several major gifts and bequests that will have a lasting impact on engineering programs at UCLA.

To honor his parents, alumnus Jeff Lawrence ('79) established the Lawrence Foundation Endowment in honor of Grace and Ray Lawrence in Computer Science. The endowment provides unrestricted funds to the department for priorities such as faculty recruiting.

“There is strong competition in recruiting the best computer science faculty, and having unrestricted funds that we can offer junior faculty gives us an advantage,” notes computer science chair Milos Ercegovac. “Jeff has maintained close ties with the School, showing strong interest and enthusiasm in our progress, and we are extremely grateful for his generous gift.”

Alumnus Jeff Lawrence with his parents, Grace and Ray Lawrence.

“My parents through their words and actions taught me the importance of helping others,” notes Lawrence. “After the software company I co-founded was acquired by Intel, my wife and I found ourselves in a position to help others on a scale that we could have never imagined. We love our parents deeply and wanted to share with them the joy and excitement of supporting people who are trying to make the world a better place. After several discussions about funding challenges, my mom and I came away very impressed by the vision and commitment of the department chair. Shortly afterwards we decided to establish an endowment in the Computer Science Department. At the same time we also made a separate grant to the School of Education.”

Inspired by the noteworthy accomplishments of UCLA engineering students, Edward K. Rice established an endowed fund that will support annual awards for excellence to honor an outstanding undergraduate student, MS candidate, and PhD candidate. An Engineering Alumni Association committee of alumni and faculty will select recipients of these awards, recognizing those students who have set new standards of excellence in engineering at UCLA through their research activities, academic accomplishments, and student leadership. Each student will receive an Engineering Excellence gold medal and $1,000.

“I think it is important to recognize those who have worked a little harder and longer and perhaps smarter to excel. I am pleased to fund this award,” notes Rice.

The School also received two bequests last year - one from the estate of Brian J. Lewis (MS '54) that will encourage students to consider the role of professionalism in engineering, an aspect of the discipline that he considered critical to success in the field.

Another bequest was received from Carolyn Leffler’s estate to establish an endowed scholarship fund in the Electrical Engineering Department honoring her son, John R. Leffler, who earned his BS ('68) and MS ('71) in electrical engineering at UCLA.

“Scholarships remain critical to our department’s ability to attract truly outstanding students,” comments electrical engineering chair Yahya Rahmat-Samii. “The scholarship established by Carolyn Leffler means even more to us, as it recognizes the legacy of one of our alumni and will serve as a reminder to current students of those who have come before.”

The School is enriched by the generosity of many other alumni and friends, whose support ensures our ability to provide an exceptional engineering education and dynamic research environment for many years to come.

Top photo appears courtesy of the Lawrence Foundation
Lower photo, Todd Cheney, UCLA Photography