MSU’s College of Engineering will use a $2.5 million gift from Dave and Denise Lamp of Dallas to support scholarships and research in its Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.
The college will use $2 million to establish the David L. and Denise M. Lamp Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering and direct the remaining $500,000 to enhance a scholarship fund previously created by the Lamp family.
“I credit a good deal of my professional and business success to my academic experience at Michigan State University,” says David Lamp, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from MSU in 1980.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon says she is grateful to the Lamps for their extraordinary leadership and generosity.
“We believe we can accelerate our impact at MSU and beyond by establishing additional endowed chairs and scholarships,” says Simon. “Endowed chairs enable us to build a base of highly regarded faculty who are considered leaders in research and teaching. There is a ripple effect as these stellar faculty members help us to attract the brightest students.
“We are profoundly thankful to Dave and Denise for investing in our students and for advancing our college in such significant ways.”
Martin Hawley, chairperson of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, says the addition of the Lamp Endowed Chair will expand scientific initiatives in the department, noting that three faculty in the department received Faculty Early Career Development awards in 2013 from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
“This important gift arrives during a time of strong momentum for us,” Hawley explained. “We are enthused that in 2013 the NSF granted three prestigious awards to help young faculty members branch out into new research areas. This new endowed chair adds to our ability to contribute to the advancement of chemical engineering at the national level.”
The Lamps also have provided financial aid for chemical engineering students. In 2007, they established the David L. and Denise M. Lamp Engineers of Tomorrow Endowed Scholarship Fund for undergraduates, and added support for graduate fellowships in 2012.
Student Andrew Wisniowiecki, a senior in chemical engineering from Grosse Pointe, and a student leader in the department, says the Lamps’ gift will help bring in students of high potential, along with faculty members who can also attract students of high potential.
“Now that we’ve seen this family as so successful, we want to be successful too,” he adds. “I’d like to thank the Lamps for those examples, especially as we thrive as a department and a college.”
Dave Lamp has 34 years of experience in the petroleum-refining industry, including technical, operations, commercial and senior management endeavors. He recently was appointed CEO and president of Northern Tier Energy. He previously served as senior vice president and chief operating officer for HollyFrontier Corporation, and held a variety of senior management positions with HollyFrontier since 2004.
For more information on making a gift to the College of Engineering, contact Senior Director of Development Stephen Bates at batesst@msu.edu or call (517) 355-8339.