Endowments for Student Excellence
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Graduate Fellowships
The competition for the strongest graduate students is intense!
Every year, the Allen School competes with Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and a handful of other programs to attract the finest graduate students in the nation and the world.
Our success in this crucial endeavor depends on many factors: the renown of our faculty; the track record of our recent students; the “atmosphere” of our program (for example, our reputation for investing in and valuing all of our students); our facilities (the new Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering); and the financial support that we are able to offer incoming students.
Teaching Assistantships (funded by the university) and Research Assistantships (funded by federal and industrial research grants and contracts) are the most common forms of graduate student support. However, fellowships are particularly important in competing for the very top students. A fellowship provides the entering student with a measure of independence and flexibility, the ability to focus exclusively on their studies, rather than immediately becoming a Teaching Assistant (teaching experience has far greater impact in later years) or becoming committed to a specific research project (many entering students need some time to explore various subfields and find the best match). Many years ago, Stanford raised a $300 million endowment for graduate student fellowships – this has proven to be an enormous competitive advantage in recruiting.
An endowment of approximately $2,000,000 is required to fully fund an academic year graduate fellowship. The principal is invested in UW’s Consolidated Endowment Fund, which has consistently performed in the top quartile of endowments nationally. Roughly 4% is available for expenditure every year; additional gains are reinvested to keep pace with inflation.
Profile: The Weil Family Endowed Fellowship in Computer Science & Engineering
Dave Weil is a graduate of Stanford University (BS Mathematics, 1974) and the University of Washington (MS Computer Science, 1977). Following graduate school he spent 4 years as a software developer for Boeing. In 1980 he joined Microsoft Corp. where he spent 17 years as a software developer, program manager, and software development manager for a variety of products including Visual C/C++ and Microsoft Works.
Dave and his wife Marsha – who holds UW Bachelors and Masters degrees in Occupational Therapy – established the Weil Family Endowed Fellowship in Computer Science & Engineering to help UW CSE prevail in the recruiting competition. This fellowship is offered annually to a top prospective student, providing him or her a year of flexibility before permanently affiliating with a research project or becoming a Teaching Assistant.
Interested in learning more?
Contact Marzette Mondin, Senior Director of Advancement in the Paul G. Allen School, marz (at) uw.edu.
Named funds are available for gifts of $100,000 and above. Appropriate recognition, designed in consultation with each donor, is part of each gift that creates a named fund. Additionally, lifetime endowment gifts of $25,000 and above are permanently recognized on the Endowment Wall in the Allen Center atrium.
Undergraduate Scholarships
Scholarships ensure that an Allen School education remains accessible to Washington’s outstanding students!
Top public research universities, such as the University of Washington, are in “the opportunity business.”
The Allen School is ranked among the top ten programs in the nation – along with Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Princeton, Texas, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Every year, students admitted to these and other fine colleges choose to attend the University of Washington instead. When they look closely, they find that the Allen School offers an unbeatable combination: outstanding students, small classes, and a world-class faculty committed to providing a very special undergraduate experience in which research and education are seamlessly intertwined, and students are brought to the forefront of the field as partners in discovery. It is not necessary to leave the Pacific Northwest to obtain one of the finest computer science educations in the nation.
Undergraduate scholarships ensure that an Allen School education remains accessible to Washington’s strongest students, regardless of their means. Washington’s “innovation economy” companies should be created and staffed by Washington’s brightest kids. This is our commitment, which we are able to fulfill because of your generosity.
In the Allen School, undergraduate scholarships are endowed at various levels. The “default” is $100,000. The principal is invested in UW’s Consolidated Endowment Fund, which has consistently performed in the top quartile of endowments nationally. Roughly 4% is available for expenditure every year; additional gains are reinvested to keep pace with inflation.
Profile: The Jean-Loup and Diane Baer Family Endowed Scholarship in Computer Science & Engineering
Education plays an important role in the Baer family. Jean-Loup and Diane both have doctorates and their three children, who wholeheartedly support the establishment of this endowment, have graduate degrees. Three of these five recipients got their advanced degrees from the University of Washington (UW).
Jean-Loup was born and raised in France. His master’s thesis was the first French thesis that dealt with computer programming languages. He continued his studies at UCLA where he received his doctorate, which was selected as the best Ph.D. in Engineering in 1969. That year he joined the faculty at UW as the second full-time faculty member in the Computer Science group. He spent his whole academic career at UW seeing the Computer Science group evolve into a full-fledged department of which he was Chair from 1988 till 1993. He retired as Professor Emeritus in 2003 a few years before the Department became the Allen School.
Jean-Loup’s research specialties were computer architecture (he authored two textbooks on that topic) and parallel processing. The most enjoyable part of his professional activities was his interaction with students and colleagues.
Diane was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois into a closely knit immigrant and first -generation community. Education and learning opportunities were very strong influences and motivators as she matured into her teens and beyond. Diane attended public school through high school excelling academically, studying piano and Hebrew as outside activities, enjoying participating in her high school orchestra together with other experiences that were well beyond what had been available to her immigrant parents and grandparents. After high school, she was fortunate to go to Northwestern University, the first in her immediate family to attend college. She received a BA degree there. Leaving Chicago, she went on to study microbiology at the University of Iowa, receiving a master’s degree and continued her formal education at the UW receiving a Ph.D. in epidemiology.
Her studies prepared her for a fulfilling career in infectious disease and public health research. The many experiences and opportunities related to the content, people and places encountered have contributed so much to her lifelong learning and understanding, not only of subject matter but of the world and the people and cultures therein. She joins Jean-Loup in hoping to facilitate wonderful learning opportunities for eager students excited about Computer Science and Engineering.
The intent of this Scholarship is to provide financial support to students in Computer Science and Engineering who are first generation to attend college and who demonstrate interest in furthering the public good.
Interested in learning more?
Contact Marzette Mondin, Senior Director of Advancement in the Paul G. Allen School, marz (at) uw.edu.
Named funds are available for gifts of $100,000 and above. Appropriate recognition, designed in consultation with each donor, is part of each gift that creates a named fund. Additionally, lifetime endowment gifts of $25,000 and above are permanently recognized on the Endowment Wall in the Allen Center atrium.
Named funds are available for gifts of $100,000 and above. Appropriate recognition, designed in consultation with each donor, is part of each gift that creates a named fund.