Jumping at the opportunity to double his impact, GW Engineering grad Thomas J. Doherty, B.S. ‘89, dramatically increased his existing scholarship fund for engineering undergraduates with a $500,000 gift that unlocked dollar-for-dollar matching funds as part of the George Washington University’s historic Third Century Scholarship Endowment Match.
His endowed gift greatly expands the scope and reach of his scholarship fund that provides perpetual support for GW School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) undergraduates with financial need and furthers its progress in diversifying the discipline.
Doherty’s vision for his scholarship support is to encourage more students to study engineering, particularly those wavering because of the rigor. He also hopes to facilitate more diverse representation in a male-dominated field.
“We don’t have enough engineers in any of the disciplines,” he said. “Too often decisions are being made by a narrow group; we need the broadest possible representation.
“Diversity is so important to how people approach things. Our lives are becoming much more technologically dependent—your phone is a great example. Technology must reflect societal views and perspectives, so your representation needs to be everyone,” Doherty added. “If we just have more people with the same background, things get stagnant.”
Read the full article on GW Today.