Harris Corporation Commits $2 Million to Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
September 17 2009 - 8:22AM
PR Newswire (US)
Gift To Support Capital Improvement Projects For Advanced
Engineering Program Facilities MELBOURNE, Fla. and ATLANTA, Sept.
17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), an
international communications and information technology company,
has signed an agreement to make a $2 million donation to the
Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Electrical and Computer
Engineering (ECE). The gift, made through the Harris Foundation,
will help support a capital campaign for construction of a new ECE
headquarters and the renovation of the school's 47-year-old Van
Leer Building, where some 7,000 students receive instruction each
year. Harris will donate $500,000 each year for four years
beginning in 2010 -- the anticipated completion date of the Georgia
Tech Foundation's private fund drive for the new facilities.
Specifically, the Harris gift is intended for construction of an
auditorium or other similar space. Harris has a decades-long
partnership with Georgia Tech and its School of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, which is the largest producer of electrical
and computer engineers by degree in the nation. The company employs
nearly 200 of the school's graduates. Howard L. Lance, chairman,
president and chief executive officer of Harris, and Dr. G.P. "Bud"
Peterson, president of Georgia Tech, signed an agreement for the
donation during a special ceremony at the Harris Customer Briefing
Center in Melbourne, Florida. The event also included a reception
attended by Harris employees who are Georgia Tech graduates and by
other representatives from the university. "While it may be
tempting for corporations to reduce educational support during
challenging economic times, at Harris we believe that this is
exactly the right time to invest in our company's future by
supporting excellent schools like Georgia Tech, whose graduates
have helped make Harris a national and global leader in the
communications and information technology sectors," said Lance.
"Our investments in education and university partnerships pay
dividends many times over." "Our faculty and students are currently
scattered across 10 buildings around the campus, the Van Leer
classrooms are outdated, and the building lacks adequate laboratory
facilities," said Dr. Gary S. May, professor and Steve W. Chaddick
School Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who attended
the check presentation. "Clearly, this generous lead gift from
Harris Corporation provides significant momentum for the school's
long-term capital needs and helps to create a new presence that
will serve us well in the 21st Century." In addition to the $2
million gift announced today, Harris has donated some $280,000 to
the university since 2006. This includes a five-year, $250,000
pledge for a research lab in the Nanotechnology Research Center,
and another $30,000 to support various programs within the School
of Electrical and Computer Engineering. About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information
technology company serving government and commercial markets in
more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the
company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and more
than 15,000 employees -- including nearly 7,000 engineers and
scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured
communications products, systems, and services. Additional
information about Harris Corporation is available at
http://www.harris.com/. DATASOURCE: Harris Corporation CONTACT: Jim
Burke, Corporate Headquarters, Harris Corporation, +1-321-727-9131,
Web Site: http://www.harris.com/
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