A corporate donation of $1.18 million to the University’s Forever LSU campaign was announced Monday evening.
The Dow Chemical Co. made its contribution through the Forever LSU campaign, which seeks to place the University as a leading public higher education institution in the nation, and specified it be used within the College of Engineering.
“One million of the 1.18 million is going to go toward establishing a process control lab within the proposed chemical engineering building,” said Scott Madere, director of public relations for the LSU Foundation.
Madere said the donation is Dow’s largest gift to the engineering school.
“The second part of the donation of $180,000 is going to go to the [Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach] program here at LSU to try to encourage minority participation in engineering,” Madere said.
According to the Dow Chemical Co.’s Web site the global corporation provides chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services.
Madere said the relationship between the University and Dow is mutually beneficial. He said the donation will help the University produce better chemical engineers. In turn, the students will see Dow’s name on the laboratory as they go through the program, sparking an interest in working for Dow.
“It’s a huge step forward for the Forever LSU campaign,” Madere said. “It’s strengthening a relationship between a corporate entity and the University. And the stronger the ties are between a corporation and LSU, the easier it is to not only enter partnerships with them on research, but it becomes a lot easier to get people that you educated here at LSU into corporations like Dow. It’s a win-win for both the corporation and LSU.”
Madere said Dow operates in more than 170 countries worldwide, and 20 percent of the company’s total worth is located in Louisiana.
“I think this gift demonstrates exactly what LSU means to Dow,” Madere said. “It means a future of quality employees and quality people they can bring into their corporation. And [it means] a corporation that’s tied into the needs and demands of Louisiana, the place they’re operating in.”
Madere said Dow’s contribution reflects the high esteem to which the corporation holds the University and Louisiana as a whole.
“This is a huge organization that you’re dealing with,” Madere said. “And it’s good to see they remember their roots. They know where the people in their company are coming from, and they know how important LSU is to the locality in which they operate business.”
Dow’s annual sales total $49 billion, and the corporation employs 43,000 people worldwide, according to their Web site.
“Ultimately, it’s a very good thing for LSU because that just means there is a tighter relationship between LSU and one of the world’s leading companies,” Madere said. “Any time we can establish good relations with a corporation like Dow is a good day for LSU.”
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]