Throughout the years, Progress & Promise: 150th Anniversary Campaign produced daily surprises and significant milestones. Your support never wavered. Michigan Engineering grew stronger. You made a difference, during the campaign, and your  support will make a difference tomorrow – there’s no way to know how far into the  future a gift might reach or how many lives it might touch. But it’s a sure thing that students will graduate, researchers will develop new technologies, Michigan Engineering will thrive and the world will be a better place. We owe all of that to you.

Thank you…

Thank you very much.

2003

The Carl A. Gerstacker Building, partially funded by The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, was dedicated on April 11, 2003. A sophisticated biomedical engineering complex, it facilitated the growth of the Biomedical Engineering (BME) department and fostered interaction and interdisciplinary work between BME, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the nearby Center for Ultrafast Optical Science.

Groundbreaking for the Computer Science and Engineering Building took place November 21, 2003. The shovels were in the capable hands of Don Schmitt, Diamond and Schmitt Architects, Inc.; Dean Stephen W. Director; co-chairs Kevin O’Connor (BSE EE ’83) and Jerry W. Levin (BSE EE ’66, BSE M ’67); U-M President Mary Sue Coleman; John Laird, professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

2004

The Ann and Robert H. Lurie Biomedical Engineering Building Construction Celebration took place April 1, 2004. Matt O’Donnell, BME chair; Frank Blanchard, director of communications, The Whitaker Foundation; Mary Sue Coleman, U-M president; Ann Lurie (LLD Hon. ’03), president, Lurie Investments; and Dean Stephen W. Director were there to celebrate.

Progress & Promise: 150th Anniversary Campaign kicked off publicly on May 14, 2004, at the sesquicentennial banquet. Speakers introduced the Campaign as one that had been designed to acknowledge the undisputed progress Michigan Engineering had made and fostered throughout its history, and its bright promise for continued excellence in education, research and service.

2005

Groundbreaking for the Robert H. Lurie Nanofabrication Facility took place April 15, 2005. Doing the honors were Ann Lurie (LLD Hon. ‘03), president, Lurie Investments; Dean Director; President Coleman; Jerry Levin (BSE EE ’66, BSE M ’67); and Don Graham (BSE IE ’55, MSE ME ’56), chairman, The Graham Group.

2006

A Campaign Donor Recognition Luncheon took place October 20, 2006, midway through the campaign, to honor those whose support had been instrumental in moving Progress & Promise: 150th Anniversary Campaign forward to that point and keeping it on-track to its ultimate success. Don Graham (BSE IE ’55, MSE ME ’56), Ingrid Graham (BS DES SOA ’57) and Kevin O’Connor (BSE EE ’83) were recognized at the luncheon.

On October 20, 2006, the Computer Science and Engineering Building was dedicated. A premier computer science and engineering facility, it opens doors of opportunity to undergraduate, graduate and faculty scholars who are pursuing the world’s next frontiers in computer science and engineering.

The Ann and Robert H. Lurie Biomedical Engineering Building dedication took place October 20, 2006, opening up new research lab space for biomedical engineering groups, new instructional laboratories and classrooms, student project space and offices.

2007

In the fall of 2006, the Levin Challenge got underway. It was met by 5,000 donors, whose $1 million in gifts resulted in $3 million of support for the College.

On October 26, 2007, the Michigan Difference Weekend Dinner celebrated the success of the College – its ranking among the top engineering schools in the country; its research budget, which is one of the largest of any public university; 11 academic departments and National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center; and its scholarship, international scale and multidisciplinary scope.

2008

The Robert H. Lurie Nanofabrication Facility, dedicated April 11, 2008, is expected to change the high-tech landscape in southeastern Michigan and the region. The new facility will accelerate Michigan Engineering’s pursuits in all areas of semiconductor device and circuit fabrication, integrated microsystems and MEMS technologies, nanotechnology, nanoelectronics, nanophotonics and nanobiotechnology. In addition, the new facility will enable researchers to explore new frontiers of material science for applications ranging from healthcare to national security.

On November 14, 2008, Progress & Promise: 150th Anniversary Campaign Finale recognized the thousands of alumni and friends, corporations and foundations, faculty and staff who, together, fulfilled the vision of enabling future generations of talented students and faculty to achieve magnificent breakthroughs.