High-Voltage Celebration in the Clark School

MORE THAN ELECTRICAL currents are lighting up the A. James Clark School of Engineering. Since the launch of Great Expectations, The Campaign for Maryland last fall, $100 million is now committed toward the school’s overall campaign goal of $185 million. “The record-setting support provided by the Clark School’s alumni and friends to date is having an immediate and dramatic effect. … Each gift is a bolt of energy you can feel throughout the school,” says Dean Nariman Farvardin.

Pushing to become one of the nation's Top 5 engineering schools, Dean Farvardin says, "imagine the Clark School as you would like to see it, and give to realize that vision."

In 2005, a generous gift of $30 million from A. James Clark ’50 helped lay the foundation for a new era of private gifts that support the programmatic goals of the engineering school. Clark’s munificence provides a range of scholarships large and small based on merit, need and diversity. Such scholarships enable students to explore the school’s expanding range of academic disciplines, like bioengineering.

Biosciences engineering pioneer Robert E. Fischell M.S. ’53, physics, whose patents include flexible coronary artery stents and other biomedical devices, will impact healthcare for generations to come. Now, thanks to the visionary generosity of Fischell and his sons—Scott, David and Tim—their $31 million gift is creating the Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices. The new bioengineering wing scheduled for completion this fall in the Jeong H. Kim Building will support greater collaboration between the new department and other disciplines.

With such new initiatives, the need for graduate fellowship support is all the more crucial. Diana M. Yoon, Robert E. Fischell Fellow in Biomedical Engineering, whose research is focused on articular cartilage regeneration, understands this need firsthand. “Fellowships allow us to focus on our work rather than worry about finances. [We] choose the lab that inspires us rather than the lab where funding happens to be available.”

Yoon is one of many women who are making inroads in the field of bioengineering, something that retired associate dean and board member of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, Marilyn Berman Pollans M.A. ’73, Ph.D. ’79, applauds. Pollans and her husband, Albert, pledged more than $200,000 in the last two years, in addition to committing a $500,000 planned gift with a large percentage targeted to the Women in Engineering program.

A major legacy of Pollans’ 25-year tenure in the Clark School is her work to increase the number of women in engineering. When she arrived in the 1970s, women made up less than 1 percent of the total student body in the school, and there was only one female faculty member. “Everything that touches our daily lives was done by an engineer. And women have a great capacity to invent and problem-solve, but they were essentially excluded by the cultural forces,” says Pollans. With her strong advocacy and greater institutional support, women now comprise 19 percent of the Clark School’s student population and there are 20 tenure-track women faculty.

Fischell, Pollans, Clark and others are creating legacies of achievement both personally and in the outstanding academic quality of the school. Ultimately, “people who contribute to the Clark School,” says Pollans, “do so because they really recognize the value of their gift.” —DJ

The Colonnade Society—Giving Back and Joining In

Colonnade Society members Carl and Carolyn Headlee Fitchel '65 (foreground), have enjoyed attending many activities including an exclusive reception prior to a women's basketball game.

IMAGINE ATTENDING AN EXCLUSIVE reception with 700 Terp fans to rally the women’s basketball team one month; then, just weeks later listening to a best-selling mystery author reveal her writing secrets. What’s next? Attending a Pops concert with a pre-performance reception held especially for you and select alumni and friends. These are just a few examples of activities that Colonnade Society members enjoy year round.

The Colonnade Society recognizes donors who contribute annual gifts totaling $1,000 or more to Maryland. Members enjoy rewards beyond the satisfaction of supporting the university. The society hosts events throughout the year that allow its members to participate in many aspects of the Maryland community.

“Being a member of the Colonnade Society is a way of giving back to the school that I care so much about,” says Carolyn Headlee Fichtel ’65, an active member in both the Colonnade Society and the Terrapin Club. She and her husband, Carl, attended the women’s basketball reception held at the Comcast Center earlier this year.

“We are pleased to support higher education through music and athletic scholarships and the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center so that the university can sustain its momentum. The society provides the chance to become more involved in the university and to learn what is being done to improve the quality of education and hear about its successes as well as associate with others who love and care about the future of Maryland.”

Borrowing its name from the strong and graceful Georgian architectural elements that create Maryland’s stately beauty, the Colonnade Society includes alumni, friends, faculty and staff who are committed to sustaining Maryland’s momentum. Members of the Colonnade Society lead the Maryland family by their example, giving generously of their financial resources and their time to support the academic mission and future success of the university. For more information about the Colonnade Society, contact Melissa Belsinger at 301.405.4630 or via email at melissa@umd.edu. —MB

Introducing Craig Thompson '92

Craig Thompson graduated from the university in 1992 with a bachelor’s in political science and Afro-American studies. He is a trustee on the University of Maryland College Park Foundation and a member of the Great Expectations Campaign Council. In 2001 the Maryland Alumni Association awarded him with the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. We look forward to introducing more campaign volunteers in upcoming issues of Terp.

PROFESSION: Attorney HOBBY: Reading FIRST READ BOOK: Either Happy Sad, Silly Mad or Horton Hatches The Egg (I don’t remember which—I was very young!) LAST READ BOOK: Enough by Juan Williams LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Reducing my coffee intake WHY I DO WHAT I DO: I have a passion for helping people and solving problems. FAVORITE QUOTE: “Do the best you can with what you have, and do it now.” Theodore Roosevelt WHY I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT MARYLAND: The leadership, faculty and staff of the university are truly committed to the success of students both academically and personally, both short term and long term. It is great to be part of such an enriching environment!

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