$10 Million Gift Launches IT&E’s 2010 Campaign
Mason’s vision to become a world-class teaching and research facility in this region and beyond is one step closer to reality thanks to a $10 million gift commitment from Ernst and Sara Volgenau to the School of Information Technology and Engineering (IT&E). Their gift—the largest individual contribution in the history of the university—has launched the school’s 2010 Campaign, which seeks to raise $20 million by 2010 to meet the rapidly growing need for highly trained information technology and engineering professionals.
The $10 million will enable the newly named Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering to make strategic investments in critical areas of study, such as biotechnology, knowledge management, and information security. Additional funds raised during the campaign will help finance the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility that will include teaching and research space and space leased to corporations to collaborate on research with faculty.
Ernst Volgenau is chair of SRA International Inc., a leading provider of information technology services, with headquarters in Fairfax. Volgenau is also a distinguished professor of information technology and engineering at Mason.
“Sara and Ernst are part of the Mason family,” says university president Alan Merten. “From Ernst’s service on the Board of Visitors and Board of Trustees to his intimate involvement with IT&E, this university continues to benefit from his leadership, generosity, and passion for the information technology industry.”
The launch of the 2010 Campaign in October coincided with IT&E’s 20th anniversary.
For more about the Volgenaus, see What's In A Name.