Doosan Corp. and Bobcat Co. helped fund a $4.5 million donation toward a scholarship endowment at North Dakota State University (NDSU), the single largest gift to establish an endowment in NDSU history.
The companies donated $3 million to NDSU to create a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) scholarship program. The state of North Dakota partly matched the donation, adding $1.5 million. The gift, paired with the state-matched funds, is the result of the Education Challenge Fund, a “two-for-one” scholarship match program approved by the North Dakota State Legislature in 2013. “Dedicated to the advancement of academics,” it covers donations made to approved North Dakota institutions for scholarship endowment.
NDSU President Dean Bresciani and Doosan Group Chairman YM Park signed the formal agreement. Scott Park, president and CEO of Doosan Infracore Bobcat Holdings Co.; and Rich Goldsbury, president of Doosan and Bobcat, North America and Oceania, also were present.
When fully funded, the endowment will distribute approximately $180,000 in scholarships per year in perpetuity. Some scholarship distribution will start this year as endowment funding begins.
“STEM-related areas help fuel innovation, which is the very foundation of our business and the key to our future,” Goldsbury said. “This endowment will help students fulfill their aspirations in engineering and other innovation-related professions. They may end up working for Doosan and Bobcat, but even if they stay and put their talents to work at other companies in the state or region, it’s a benefit to our communities.”
Doosan and Bobcat began a research partnership with NDSU in 2005, becoming the anchor tenant at the NDSU Technology Incubator, part of the NDSU Research and Technology Park. Through the partnership, Bobcat established engineering and product testing facilities that include 15,000-square-feet of floor space for up to 50 Bobcat employees, a working technology lab and an indoor machine testing area. The partnership expanded in 2013 with a one-time $400,000 donation from Doosan and Bobcat and $200,000 in additional grants through North Dakota’s Centers of Excellence & Research Excellence.
