LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- University of Kentucky alumnus Stanley Pigman donated $34.5 million to the college of engineering, the largest single gift made to the university in its 158-year history.
Pigman is committed to making engineering an accessible career path to all students in the area, the university said in a news release Friday. Many years ago, Pigman received a scholarship to study mining engineering at UK. He graduated in 1981 with his bachelor's degree and vowed that he would invest in the lives of future students who would come through the university.
"The Pigmans have a deep understanding of society’s growing demand for engineering talent, and they are helping us to build the future engineers who will move us forward," Rudy Buchheit, the Rebecca Burchett Liebert Dean of UK Engineering, said in a news release Friday.
Beyond the $34.5 million pledge, Stanley and Karen Pigman have spent decades mentoring hundreds of engineering students and financially supporting them through the "L. Stanley Pigman Scholarship Program, which has supported more than 120 engineering students. In total, the Pigman's donations to UK have surpassed $55 million.
UK President Eli Capilouto and the Board of Trustees suggested the college of engineering be named the "Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering" in honor of the Pigman's commendable service to the school.
UK alumnus Stanley Pigman and his wife Karen have pledged more than $34.5 million to @ukyengineering.Today, @UKYpres recommended to the Board of Trustees that the college be named the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering. pic.twitter.com/F4Tm1qabmr
— University of Kentucky (@universityofky) April 28, 2023
"Karen and I know that producing more engineers and computer scientists will change not just this generation but generations of many families to come, and we are specifically invested in helping students with unmet need, first-generation students and students from Appalachia become engineers and computer scientists," Stan Pigman said in a news release Friday.
Below is what UK said the $34.5 donation will be put toward:
- Lessons@UK Program
- Establishment of a new non-endowed mentoring scholarship fund to be named the “Lessons at UK Program."
- Scholarships
- Additional support to the “Stanley Pigman Engineering Scholarship” fund.
- College Initiatives
- Establishment of a new non-endowed fund to be named the “Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering Initiatives Support Fund.”
- Research, Graduate Education and Faculty Endowments
- Establishment of an endowment to be named the “Lighthouse Beacon Foundation Endowment for Research and Graduate Education.”
- Additional funding to the “L. Stanley Pigman Distinguished Professorship in Power,” which supports faculty positions within the college.
- Funkhouser Expansion and Modernization
- A $10 million gift will support the renovation and expansion of the Funkhouser Building — adding 100,000 square feet of state-of-the-art teaching and research spaces to UK Engineering. The project aims to support enrollment growth, additional faculty members and research goals.
- The EduceLab Professor of Heritage Science Endowment
- Supports leadership activities for EduceLab, including recruiting and retaining outstanding STEM+Heritage Science talent (students, faculty and staff) in the service of ongoing design, commissioning and operational capabilities.
Because of Pigman's achievements and philanthropic efforts, he received the honored induction into UK Engineering’s Hall of Distinction and the UK Alumni Association Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
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