Irony and jealousy aside, I think it's an exceedingly practical goal to mint
managers. I just wish a) it were really possible with greenfield 20 year olds
and b) it wasn't so prosaic. But as so often in life romance (the Scientific
Stuggle To Understand Our Universe) is at odds with practice (where the next
Buffet?).
Rohit
PS. UCI, ironically, is one of the best set-up places to bid for such a
program if it were an open process. Unlike the other UCs, it a) has a good
enough school of information to make it worthwhile but b) doesn't have an
undergrad program snooty enough to disdain such an initiative, and c) we also
need lots of housing and marquee pieces to attract students as we climb the
ranks.
------- Forwarded Message
To: allgrads@sparky.ics.uci.edu, faculty@sparky.ics.uci.edu
Subject: 32 million gift to nebraska
From: Dennis Kibler <kibler@sparky.ics.uci.edu>
Message-ID: <9810200833.aa19221@paris.ics.uci.edu>
a
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA ANNOUNCES LARGEST GIFT EVER
Lincoln (Neb.) - May 7, 1998 - A Denver couple will give more than $32
million to their alma mater, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the largest
single gift ever given to the University of Nebraska.
C. Edward and Carole L. McVaney, have made a five-year gift commitment of
$32,207,000 to the NU Foundation to establish the J.D. Edwards Honors
Program in Computer Science and Management and a residential academic center
to house the program.
The concept for the program is to provide students with a living and
learning environment, housed in a high-tech residential center where they
will draw on expertise and mentoring from the private sector. No new degree
programs will be established. Rather, the gift will strengthen the existing
programs in computer science, engineering, management and related programs.
A high quality, innovative curriculum will be developed blending instruction
in technology and information management with liberal arts to educate future
innovators and CEOs.
In addition to the $32 million, the gift includes the potential for an
ongoing pledge based on continued success of the program to provide $4.6
million annually after the fifth year of the project. Naming of the program
is pending approval by the university's Board of Regents at its May 16
meeting. The gift is sufficient to fund the program and build the center
without additional tax funds.
In announcing the gift, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor James
Moeser said, "This new honors program reflects our priority of attracting
the most promising scholars to the University of Nebraska and providing them
with the finest educational opportunities. The J.D. Edwards Honors Program
will be a student-centered program with a residential living and learning
environment second to none."
Ed McVaney explained why he and his wife chose to make this gift. "My
personal interest in computer science and information sciences was
originally triggered in UNL's classrooms and now I want to create the
atmosphere for the best computer science program in the world. I want to
thank the chancellor and the faculty with whom I met for their creativity
and enthusiasm," he said. "The university's commitment to have the program
focus on students was imperative in our decision, and was the driving force
behind the development of the residential academic center. This program will
encourage interaction between students and residential faculty, interaction
that we feel is essential for a successful mentoring process."
University of Nebraska President L. Dennis Smith pointed out that this gift
complements the university's existing programs in information science,
technology and engineering.
"The university has a commitment to meet the needs of the people of the
state by developing the technology and the educated work force of the future
through its programs on all four campuses," Smith said. "This new
residential honors program will complement and build upon strengths of the
Peter Kiewit Institute's partnership with business and industry. I am
delighted with this gift and what it will mean for Nebraska."
Both natives of Omaha, Ed and Carole McVaney graduated from the University
of Nebraska. Carole earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1963 and Ed
earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1964. He also
received an MBA from Rutgers University in 1966 and became a certified
public accountant. He worked for Peat Marwick and Grant Thornton & Co.
before establishing J.D. Edwards in 1977. McVaney serves as chairman,
president and chief executive officer.
Headquartered in Denver, J.D. Edwards develops, markets and supports
multinational, integrated enterprise software for distribution, finance,
human resources, manufacturing and supply chain management. The company's
enterprise software operates in multiple computing environments, including
IBM AS/400, UNIX, Windows NT and the Internet. Serving customers in 103
countries, J.D. Edwards went public in September 1997 and is traded on the
Nasdaq Stock Market as JDEC.
Richard Edwards, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will appoint a director for the J.D. Edwards
Honors Program. "This gift will give a huge boost to our campus," Edwards
said. "It will permit the development of coordinated course offerings from
our colleges of business administration, arts and sciences, and engineering
and technology. The program will blend academic and applied learning by
continually relating on-campus learning to real-world experiences."
NU alumnus and Nebraska U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey welcomed the gift as an example
of partnership between the public and private sector. "This is truly a
generous gift and a shining example of how private philanthropy can partner
with higher education to give more Nebraskans a better shot at their
American dream," he said. "I have long been an advocate of educating our
young talented Nebraskans in emerging technology. This will not only be a
significant resource for the state, but one that will enable the university
to become a global leader in these fields."
Jeff Raikes, Microsoft's group vice president for sales and marketing,
provided assistance in the development of this unique program. "As a
Nebraskan, I am proud this is being established at the University of
Nebraska," he said. "I was involved as a resource in conceptualizing the
J.D. Edwards Honors Program and believe that it will have national influence
on computer science education and the industry."
This is the largest individual gift ever made in the history of the NU
Foundation. The next largest gift was received in 1996 when the foundation
announced a $29 million gift of the assets of the W.E. Barkley Trust to
benefit the university's Barkley Memorial Center for special education and
communication disorders.
The University of Nebraska Foundation is a nonprofit corporation
supplementing faculty, students, facilities and program support at the
University of Nebraska through gifts by alumni, friends, corporations and
other foundations.
UNL News Releases 5/07/98
Contact: Phyllis Larsen, Director
UNL Public Relations - (402) 472-0088
or Theresa Klein, Communications Director
NU Foundation - (402) 472-2151
For questions regarding these releases, contact:
tsimons@unlinfo.unl.ed u
(402) 472-8514, Fax: (402) 472-7825
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--Rohit Khare -- UC Irvine -- 4K Associates -- +1-(626) 806-7574 http://www.ics.uci.edu/~rohit -- http://xent.ics.uci.edu/~FoRK