Background - The Student Endowment Fund was created in 2005 to support the District's Student Initiatives Program. The Student Endowment Fund will ultimately provide District 6 with a continuous and stable source of funding to finance specific and proven student initiatives that are aimed at attracting and retaining the most talented students into the transportation profession. Student initiatives funded under this program will be overseen and managed by the District, and 100 percent of the funds will go to student and faculty initiatives.

History of Student Initiative Fund Development - The District 6 Student Initiatives Fund was created in 2002 with a goal of attracting university Civil & Environmental Engineering students to the transportation profession. By encouraging active student chapter advisors, increasing student access to the profession (and its professionals), and developing improved liaison between the profession and emerging engineering students, we have achieved substantial progress in increasing the number of quality engineering students choosing transportation as a career option. ITE and our profession also benefit from these interactions since students are not only our future workforce but our future members and leaders as well.

Funding Goal - The current funding of student initiatives is approximately $25,000 per year. Many of the initiatives are presently only partially funded (for example, outstanding student awards with no stipend or travel support to attend the meeting where the award is issued). An estimate was made to identify the cost of fully funding the student initiatives that are currently in place. This estimate is approximately $40,000 per year. On an annual basis funds would only be allocated to those initiatives/activities that are worthy (for example, awards will not be made unless qualified applicants are available). The initial goal is to raise $300,000, though an ultimate balance of $500,000 is desired so that we can double the amount of funding allocated for Student Initiatives, which is currently set at about $20,000 per year.

Status - The balance of around $12,800 took an immediate jump when the Board voted to transfer $20,000 from the District's general funds into the Endowment Account in February. This money represents the proceeds from the Honolulu meeting in excess of expenses, and is attributable to the tremendous turn-out for this great meeting. It would be great if we could hit the $100,000 mark in 2007!.

Donations are always appreciated and encouraged! Use this donor form.

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