The John F. Savage Hall Arena renovations and the new indoor practice facility being built near it are not the only projects involving SSOE Inc. at UT.
SSOE Inc., the architecture and engineering consulting firm based in Toledo recently announced a $629,000 pledge to the university.
A total of $129,000 will go to the College of Business Administration, College of Medicine, athletics department and a project to honor veterans outside the Memorial Field House.
The remaining $500,000 will go to the College of Engineering.
According to Nagi Naganathan, dean of the College of Engineering, one of the founders of SSOE is Alfred Samborn, who was a graduate of the college. Samborn joined the College of Engineering as a faculty after retiring from the company.
"The College of Engineering is fortunate to receive such an transformative gift of half a million as part of this pledge with the primary intent of renovating our seminar room to be a much more appropriate venue for seminars, conference and other panel discussions," he said.
"SSOE will help us design the space to be the kind of venue which will allow for active engagement between speakers and visitors. In addition, they are providing cash contributions both from the company and through the employees to make this possible," Naganathan said.
He said SSOE also gives out scholarships to students of the college on a regular basis.
Besides the monetary donations and providing architectural, engineering and design services, SSOE Inc. is one of the key employers for graduates from the College of Engineering.
"I think we did an assessment recently and almost 150 alumni work at SSOE, 80 or so are from the College of Engineering," he said.
Naganathan said that SSOE employees are also constantly providing services as guest lecturers in events and are involved in many mentorship roles with students.
"For example, we hold an annual Distinguished Lecture Series, which Mr. and Mrs. Samborn started in this college. We got a special visitor from Duke University, Henry Petrowski, thanks to SSOE's special contribution," he said.
"They are one of the most impacting contributors for the College of Engineering because their contributions are multidimensional," Naganathan said.
They have also been selected to be involved in the master plan for the North Engineering Building.
"[SSOE Inc.] is engaged in one too many ways to describe at the same time, and everywhere they go, they're making a difference in the life of our students and college," he said.
"The connection between SSOE and the college is truly a win-win for SSOE and for our college and students," Naganathan said.
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