Two gifts advance Michigan engineering ANN ARBOR—Engineering alumni Jerry W. Levin and Kevin O’Connor have pledged two gifts totaling $10 million to the University of Michigan College of Engineering and have agreed to serve as co-chairs of its upcoming anniversary campaign.

A portion of Levin’s $5 million pledge will be used as a challenge to encourage additional gifts to the Michigan Engineering Fund, which calls upon the college’s wide alumni base to provide flexible support for college programs and student resources. O’Connor’s $5 million gift will go toward a new building on North Campus to house the college’s growing computer science program.

Levin is chairman and CEO of Sunbeam Corp. He graduated from the College of Engineering with a B.S.E. in electrical engineering in 1966 and another B.S.E. in engineering math in 1967. In 1998, he and his wife endowed the Jerry W. and Carol L. Levin Professor of Engineering. He has been a member of the college’s National Advisory Committee since 1993.

“Michigan Engineering has some of the most talented and successful alumni in the world,” Levin said. “My hope is that this gift will inspire other alumni to step forward and contribute to the future success of the college.”

O’Connor is the co-founder, chairman and former CEO of the online marketing company DoubleClick Inc. He earned his B.S.E. degree in electrical engineering in 1983. In 1999, O’Connor and his wife established the Kevin and Nancy O’Connor Professor of Computer Science. A year later, he endowed the O’Connor Scholarship and delivered the keynote address at the College of Engineering’s spring graduation ceremony.

“The education that I received at the University of Michigan has meant a lot to me,” O’Connor said. “The computer science program has flourished in the last few years, and I am very pleased to help provide for its future growth.” According to Stephen W. Director, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, these two gifts, along with an earlier pledge of $25 million by Chicago-based philanthropist Ann Lurie, set an important tone for the college’s upcoming fund-raising efforts.

“Now more than ever, Michigan Engineering is grateful to have such a committed and generous community of supporters,” Director said. “These gifts by Jerry W. Levin and Kevin O’Connor help provide for our future growth and success, and the college is honored to have such enthusiastic leadership on the Anniversary Campaign Committee.”

In the 2003-04 academic year, the University will begin celebrating its 150th anniversary in engineering education. Established in 1854, the College of Engineering is one of the oldest and most prominent engineering schools in the country.

The College of Engineering is consistently ranked among the top engineering schools in the world. The college is composed of 11 academic departments. Each year the college enrolls more than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students and grants about 1,000 undergraduate degrees and 600 masters and doctoral degrees. To learn more, visit www.engin.umich.edu.

Contact: Neal Lao