Support for engineering
Alum's gift will help innovative curriculum become a national model
Science and Technology
SUMMARY: When Jeff Tickle ('90) heard about JMU's innovative approach to engineering, he wanted to be a partner in its success.
“Working for the family business, there was always a struggle for good engineers,” says Jeff Tickle (’90) of Bristol, Tennessee. And not just any engineers, he emphasizes, “but those who can understand process—how to do things. … JMU is producing the kind of engineers that manufacturing needs.”
Now a successful entrepreneur, Tickle recently committed $2.5 million to the College of Integrated Science and Engineering, whose students engage in hands-on, collaborative design work beginning in the first year—a rarity in undergraduate engineering.
“Jeff’s gift,” says Bob Kolvoord, dean of the college, “is going to allow us to take the next step in becoming a national model for this kind of engineering program.”
For more on Tickle's gift, see "A Visionary $2.5 Million Investment".
