The University of Texas at Austin College of Engineering has received a $1 million endowment pledge from AMD. This unique endowment, the first of its kind at the university, will be used for course redesign, student and faculty support and laboratory improvement, and will be administered by the chairman of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department. The funds will be given over a four-year period.
“AMD’s gift to the university represents their desire to further strengthen their unique relationship with UT, as well as advance the electrical and computer engineering department’s leadership position in high-tech engineering education,” said Ben Streetman, dean of the College of Engineering at the university.
The gift, known as the AMD Chair in Computer Engineering, responds to a recent call for increased flexibility, decision making and resource support at the departmental level where student and faculty activities first converge. The university’s Committee of 125, a future-looking brain trust of alumni appointed by the president, initially identified this need and AMD became the first to respond by designing this endowment.
For more than a decade, AMD has worked with the university to support higher education and recruit top engineering talent. AMD champions numerous university programs via contributions, faculty endowments and scholarships. AMD also collaborates with a variety of colleges within the university on computing-specific research projects and encourages student development through technology design contests. AMD’s co-op and intern program has helped train and educate hundreds of UT students outside the classroom with real-world experience. In 2006, AMD trained 100 co-ops and interns from the university and hired 16 new college graduates. Since 2000, AMD has hired approximately 200 new graduates from the university, more than from any other single university.
“As an Austin resident, I understand the powerful impact UT Austin has on businesses in this community. And, as a global technology company we recruit top talent from around the world and for almost three decades have worked closely with UT Austin to recruit some of the brightest computer engineering minds in the world through the College of Engineering,” said Dirk Meyer, president and chief operating officer, AMD. “AMD and UT Austin’s collaboration enables the university to continue the important work of educating and inspiring tomorrow’s innovators and helps us recruit top talent. It is my hope that the AMD Chair of Computing Engineering continues to push the limits of what is possible for the university, its students and AMD.”
In 2006, AMD was recognized as a top employer with the Texas Star award for recruiting from the university’s College of Engineering.
Education is a central focus of AMD’s corporate citizenship efforts worldwide, which encompass programs that promote math and science education at all levels of development, teacher development, university research and education, and college and career readiness.
