A strong desire to support chemical engineering education at West Virginia University drove one alumnus to create a scholarship and put a check on his bucket list.
James Faller and his wife, Catherine, are supporting future Mountaineers with a gift of $40,000. The endowment established the James and Catherine Faller Scholarship, which will provide support to undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need studying the discipline.
“As a native of the state and the beneficiary of a fine education from WVU, establishing an endowed scholarship has always been on my bucket list,” said Faller, who earned his bachelor’s degree from WVU in 1959. “I was motivated by a strong desire to make a gift while still alive that will support and strengthen chemical engineering education at WVU.”
Faller, who completed both his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Delaware, in 1962 and 1967 respectively, spent the bulk of his career working for the U.S. government, for research and development organizations as a senior engineer and as a leader on a range of military projects.
“I spent two years as a visiting assistant professor on the engineering faculty of the U.S. Naval Academy,” said Faller, “and I also served as branch chief of the chemistry lab at the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Test Center.”
Faller went on to spend a number of years in private industry, working for Boeing, and he was the co-founder of F&F Associates, an engineering consulting company, which ceased operations with his retirement from federal service in 2006.
“Unmet financial needs can often discourage even high achieving students from continuing with their studies,” said Rakesh Gupta, George and Carolyn Berry Chair of Chemical Engineering at WVU. “We are thankful to Dr. Faller for setting up this endowment to provide undergraduate scholarships to deserving chemical engineering students.”
The gift was made in conjunction with “A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University.” The $750-million comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2015.
For more information on “A State of Minds” visit www.astateofminds.com.
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mcd/08/04/14
CONTACT: Mary C. Dillon, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
304.293.4086, Mary.Dillon@mail.wvu.edu
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