Class of 2004 Helps to Establish Engineering Senior Gift
Student Gifts Matched by Alum Rich Gay; Gift to Support Scholarships this Fall

Date: June 25,2004
Contact: Chris Sutton ( chris@ea.ucla.edu )
Phone: 310-206-0540

Engineering students from the Class of 2004 have contributed almost $1,000 to establish the School of Engineering's first class gift program. The gifts given by this year's graduates will be used to create the Senior Gift Engineering Student Scholarship, which will support future engineering students at UCLA.

Gigi Lau ('04) presented Dean Vijay K. Dhir with a check May 21 to mark the establishment of the Class of 2004 Engineering Senior Gift.

Including matching gifts and other support, the total size of the Senior Gift currently stands at $2,500.

"The Class of 2004 Engineering Senior Gift represents the beginning of an annual giving tradition that lets students create a legacy for their fellow students," said Kristen Wicks, assistant director for annual giving and alumni relations.

The Class of 2004 is the first engineering class to develop a class gift program specifically for the School and its students. The effort was spearheaded by three senior students: Gigi Lau and Edmond Chung, both electrical engineering majors, and Tony Lee, a computer science major. All three students graduated this June with their baccalaureate degrees.

UCLA engineering alumnus Rich Gay ('73, '73, '76) matched all student gifts made to the program, effectively doubling the amount of money available for next year's Student Scholarship. Gay, winner of the School's 2003 Service Award, has been a strong supporter of engineering student groups and a champion of new ventures in the School. He was a driving force in launching the Alumni Fund for Student Projects, which last year provided financial assistance to over two dozen student groups, and he continues to be an active voice on the Engineering Alumni Association.

"I have been very impressed with the initiative our engineering senior students have shown in helping to establish this scholarship," said Vijay K. Dhir, dean of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. "I am also deeply appreciative of the continued support that Rich Gay has provided for this effort. Our School's students have a great friend in Rich."

Scholarships of $500 will be awarded to five undergraduate students with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 after at least two quarters of study at UCLA, and who are active in school organizations and community service. The students who made up the senior gift committee determined the eligibility criteria themselves.

"From the beginning, this effort has been driven by the students," said Wicks. "From fundraising to setting the scholarship's requirements, this initiative has been led by the students, for the students."

In addition to scholarships, gifts to the school are used to establish fellowships for exceptional graduate students, to attract and retain world-class faculty, and to establish and maintain the most advanced teaching and research facilities.

Such support also has a direct impact on the School's national rankings. Annual rankings, such as those by US News and World Report, are based on a number of factors, including the percentage of alumni, students and other supporters who make gifts to the School.

More information about the Engineering Annual Fund is available online at http://www.engineeringalum.ucla.edu/eaf/eaf.asp.