The engineering department established an award to honor its biggest philanthropist.
Before his death on July 4, Herschel “Abe” Brand was recognized as being the UT College of Engineering’s 2003 Outstanding Philanthropist. This award was created specifically to show Brand appreciation and may continue as a yearly award.
“After giving up to $1 million, we wanted to give him an honor before his death,” said Kim Cowart, communications specialist. “This is the first time we’ve given the award, and we might continue it depending on the circumstances.”
Brand graduated from UT’s engineering program in 1938. After graduation, Brand became a pioneer in the oil industry and decided to give back to his alma mater.
In 1996, the Herschel C. and Louise Runnion Brand Engineering Scholarship was established with an initial gift of $500,000.
“He created the endowment in honor of his late wife, whom he met at UT, to assist students in UT’s cooperative engineering program,” said Cathy Dodge, director of engineering development. “Brand, a co-op student at UT and a starter for the 1936 Southeastern Conference Champion Volunteer basketball team, recently made a second commitment of $500,000 to the college.”
Most of Brand’s contributions went to the engineering’s co-op program, because he realized that it paves the way for future successes in the industry.
“Mr. Brand was an exceptional person,” said Walter Odom, director of the co-op program. “He realized that this program did more for students. It paid their way through school and helped them know if they were on the right track. It also gave them exposure and confidence.”
The engineering co-op program is the second oldest in the South and has about 700 students.
“During the co-op, students have a semester at work within the industry, and then they take classes,” Cowart said. “In the end, the students in the program have a degree and hands-on experience that they can take on the job search.”
Students work at their co-op job for three semesters in order to progress in different areas. Once completed, the co-op gives the students a better chance of getting a job.
“If students had zero experience at graduation, they had limited interviews,” Odom said. “Those who did the co-op had a job either with their co-op business or somewhere else in the market.”
As the co-op program continues, students for years to come will remember Brand because of his generosity.
“Mr. Brand’s gifts to the college are definite proof of both his generous spirit and his dedication to UT,” Dodge said. “All of us are grateful for his unwavering support of the college’s mission to educate future engineers.”
