USU gets $75K donation

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 17, 2008

LOGAN -- Utah State University's College of Engineering received a $75,000 check Friday, following the dedication of the David G. Sant Engineering Innovation Building.

Alliant Techsystems provided the donation to help enhance the quality of the college's programs and facilities, according to George Torres, ATK spokesman. Along with the donation, ATK's name is displayed on the outside of a tiered lecture hall on the first floor of USU's Engineering Classroom building.

"This generous gift from ATK will help us move forward in realizing the complex, expensive and exciting learning environments that are required for students in the College of Engineering," said Scott Hinton, dean of USU's College of Engineering.

ATK officials hope the name "evokes the interests of future engineering graduates to explore a career in the aerospace and defense industries," said ATK vice president, David Riemer. They hope to fill 225 engineering jobs in 13 states in all disciplines. ATK, which operates in 21 states with more than 17,000 employees, currently employs more than 5,500 throughout Utah -- working on programs for NASA, defense and commercial customers. The company deals with a $4.5 billion annual revenue stream.

"This generation of engineers is not only necessary for ensuring America's space industry maintains a strong work force but are absolutely crucial for the pioneering of technologies that will advance future space exploration," Riemer said.

ATK also contributed a permanent exhibit displaying its involvement in aerospace and defense programs including NASA's Space Shuttle, Ares launch vehicles and numerous commercial and defense projects.