The University of Texas at Dallas received a one-time donation of $1 million to the matching funds campaign for the new engineering building recently funded by the UT System Board of Regents. Appropriation of the $30 million funding by the Board of Regents was contingent on UTD’s ability to raise $10 million from industry supporters. The funds received from Ericsson will be used to broaden the advancement of the J. Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. The Jonsson School leads the state in the number of computer science graduates and ranks third in the number of electrical engineering graduates.
The Ericsson gift will be paid in four equal endowments of $250,000 over the next four years. Ericsson’s decision to become a major contributor to UTD further highlights their commitment to the higher education needs of the local community and as a financial investment in the critical need being met by UTD in the communications industry.
The announcement ceremony was held in the Special Collections room of the McDermott Library. An oversized mock check for $1 million was handed to Dr. Franklyn Jenifer, president of UT Dallas, by Per Arne Sandstrom, president and CEO of Ericsson who flew in from Sweden to participate in the ceremony.
“We find UTD graduates to be fully prepared to add immediate value to our organization,” said Mr. Sandstrom. “We cannot be a successful company if we don’t continue to develop relationships with institutes of higher learning and research, and that’s why we are so committed to our shared success.”
Ericsson Inc. has played a key role in the creation of the electrical engineering program at UTD since the late 1980’s. The company established the Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair of Electrical Engineering for the Dean of the J. Erik Jonsson School and continues to be supportive in the school’s expanding growth. According to Ericsson sources, the company currently has “about 150 employees who are either graduates or former students of UTD’s fine programs, both technical and non-technical.”
Ericsson Inc. is a leading communications supplier, combining innovation in mobility and Internet in creating the new era of mobile Internet. Ericsson provides total solutions covering everything from systems and applications to mobile phones and other communications tools.