A decade ago, the UW launched the  “Be Boundless — For Washington, For the World” campaign with the idea that what you care about can change the world. During this time, 15,878 individuals and organizations gave $496,458,333 in support of the College of Engineering, helping to propel us to the top tier of engineering schools. And the Washington State Legislature invested in enrollment expansion in engineering and computer science, plus capital projects to support the student growth.

Last June, the UW closed the books on the campaign — the most ambitious in the UW’s history. While this milestone doesn’t mean that our work is done, it provides a moment to celebrate what’s been achieved so far and recognize the impact we’re making together.

Here we highlight some of the transformational investments made in the College — from research initiatives, to professorships and fellowships supporting the development of innovative technologies, to scholarships, program support and capital funding to improve the student experience. 

June 2013: The Legislature provides $4.4M annually to expand computer science and engineering enrollment in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. It allocates $3M a year for the Clean Energy Institute and $3M for the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation.

December 2013: Jeet and Jan Bindra, UW Engineering’s campaign co-chairs, fund the renovation of a Chemical Engineering lab, the first of several significant campaign gifts.

January 2015: An agreement with Boeing launches the Boeing Advanced Research Center (BARC) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, bringing Boeing engineers to campus.  

June 2015: The Legislature provides $32.5M for the Gates Center building in the biennial capital budget. Also directs $2M of the Education Legacy Trust Account for 2015-16 and $4M per year thereafter to expand enrollments in computer science and engineering.

November 2015: Cherng Jia (“C.J.”) and Elizabeth Hwang establish a professorship in Electrical & Computer Engineering to support research to treat spinal cord injuries.

March 2016: Scott and Catherine Roberts make a gift to fund a distinguished endowed fellowship in the Department of Chemical Engineering. 

June 2016: The Hopper-Dean Foundation supports a diversity partnership between the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and STARS, a program supporting engineering students from underserved Washington state high schools. 

August 2016: STARS receives a three-year, $2.2M grant for growth from the state’s Opportunity Expansion Fund, supported by funding from Microsoft.

November 2016: Milton and Delia Zeutschel establish a professorship and student capstone program to support entrepreneurship and industry partnerships in Electrical & Computer Engineering.

February 2019: The Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering is dedicated. 

April 2019: Backed by industry support, the Legislature provides funding for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to increase undergraduate engineering degree production, fund the STARS program, and design the new Interdisciplinary Engineering Building. 

May 2019: Fundraising for the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building begins. 

August 2019: A pledge by Steven and Connie Rogel establishes an endowed professorship for cardiovascular innovation in the Department of Bioengineering.