Memorial University of Newfoundland has received the largest single donation from living individuals in its history – a generous gift that offers life-changing opportunities for students in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

Memorial President Axel Meisen announced Dec. 10 that Drs. Angus and Jean Bruneau have donated $1,030,643 to create the Angus Bruneau Student Leadership and Innovation Fund in Engineering (or Angus Bruneau Student LIFE Program).

“It is often through extra curricular and voluntary service activities that students discover, develop and demonstrate their leadership abilities to the great benefit of the organizations with which they associate, their peers, and the community at large,” said Dr. Angus Bruneau, who served as the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science’s first dean from 1969 until 1974.

Student leaders in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science welcomed the announcement, noting it will have a significant impact for students. Jonas Roberts, president of the Memorial chapter of Engineers Without Borders, a student-led organization that works to eliminate extreme poverty, talked about the wide variety of initiatives his organization has undertaken, and the skills he has developed as a result.

"For me, the opportunity to take part in so many worthwhile activities has been invaluable, and the leadership training and personal development I've experienced will serve me throughout my life."

Delia Warren, president of the Engineering Undergraduate Society, also spoke of her organization’s diverse activities, which include high school outreach, sporting and social events, charity fundraisers and connecting students with industry. “One of the challenges we have in all our activities is finding sufficient funds,” she acknowledged.

“For every initiative we undertake to benefit students or support a charity, we first have to find the money to make it happen. This new program will make so many more student initiatives possible.”

The program, which will be known as the Angus Bruneau Student LIFE Program, will recognize student leadership and innovation in three categories:

• In the Community Service category, initiatives will be funded that involve innovative approaches to significant local or international challenges such as international development or gender diversity within the engineering profession, and thereby enhance the engagement of engineers in the community.

• In the category of Engineering Education and Enhancement of the Education Experience, areas of particular interest will include such initiatives as national or international design competitions, school outreach initiatives, programs that foster academic success, technological entrepreneurship, and student-designed seminars, debates and leadership development forums.

• The Research category supports graduate student initiatives involving engineering research and its transfer to industry. This could include business start-up activities by graduate students, research project fairs, travel funding for paper presentations, and support for graduate students involved in national or international competitions.

Student leadership in developing innovative projects will be the primary focus of these awards, which can range up to $10,000 each.

In accepting this generous donation, Dr. Meisen said: “At Memorial University, our primary focus is on students. Fostering their leadership skills, as the program we are announcing today does, will benefit not just them, but our province and our world.”

He also commended the donors for their forward-thinking and generous support, given through a donation of securities.

“Dr. Angus Bruneau and Dr. Jean Bruneau have, for many years, shown a strong interest and commitment to Memorial University and its students, as well as to our province. The level of the gift we are announcing today demonstrates their support once again and in an outstanding manner.”

Dr. Ray Gosine, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, also acknowledged the importance of the fund. “Increasingly, our students are contributing to academic and community life in innovative ways, and the benefits are wide-ranging. This new program will allow for even greater opportunities for them to gain experience and leadership skills. It will also help us attract more top-level students to our faculty.”

In summing up the value of their unprecedented gift today, Dr. Angus Bruneau said: “To the extent that the Student LIFE program encourages and enables more innovative service and development programs in the faculty and creates the opportunity for more students to participate, we shall be very pleased.”