|
Fritz & Dolores Russ, Paul & Beth Stocker, and Awardee Neil Williams Engineers are their own breed. Defined by their ability to create new things from abstract ideas, they’re the kind of people who pop the hood of a car or pull the case off a PC just to see how the contraptions work.
Ohio University counts among its most loyal alumni two of these unique individuals. From the mind of C. Paul Stocker, BSEE ’26, HON ’74, came a better telephone. The talents of Fritz J. Russ, BSEE ’42, DENG ’75, advanced computer and laser technology as well as artificial intelligence.  Yet their contributions to the field of engineering aren’t limited to their own innovations. As philanthropists, each of them, with their wives Beth K. Stocker, BS ’28, and Dolores H. Russ, has helped build a premier college of engineering and technology at Ohio University. In that respect, they have helped educate and influence thousands of others with similarly curious and inventive minds.
Ironically, these alumni made their first gifts to Ohio University in the very same year: 1962. Those donations — gifts of less than $1,000 each — marked the beginning of long and deep relationships with the University, to which both couples have committed millions of dollars. While they’ve directed funds to the colleges of Communication and Arts & Sciences, their focus has been the College of Engineering & Technology. Much of their giving has been to endowments, which today provide a combined $2 million in interest income that the college can spend annually. |
“There is a joy and a privilege in giving,” she says. “It’s gratifying, exciting and truly humbling to see the ways in which Ohio University has used each of our gifts, large and small, and multiplied their value for the benefit of the students and the community.”
“Our relationship with Ohio University has enriched our lives more than we could have ever dreamed — with good friends, seeing the results of our giving come to pass, and witnessing the students receiving a quality education,” says Fritz Russ. “We hope that the Russ College continues to advance toward a world-class facility serving students and the community.” Neil Williams, BSEE ’02, who received both Stocker and Russ scholarships while studying electrical engineering, says “I have an increased appreciation for how important scholarships are to students. The gifts I received made it easier for my parents to send me to college and let me graduate with very little in student loans. I’m very thankful for Mrs. Stocker’s and the Russes’ generosity, and I hope someday that I’ll be able to set up a similar scholarship.”
It’s clearly no coincidence that the College of Engineering & Technology is named for the Russes, while the more than 150,000-square-foot center in which it is housed bears the Stockers’ name. | |
|
