Allison I. Whitney '62 Electrical Engineering Fund Update

In June of 2006, several friends, former colleagues and former students of Allison I. Whitney decided to establish an endowed fund to honor Professor Whitney. As of January 2007, over 66 separate gifts had been made totaling over $45,000. The income from the fund will be used to support the purchasing of equipment for the undergraduate laboratories at the University of Maine that are used by students seeking a degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering.

Professor Whitney, who retired in the spring of 2006, passed away on March 10, 2007, after battling cancer for two years.

After he obtained his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Maine in 1962, he went on to obtain a Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1964, also from the University of Maine.  He began teaching Electrical Engineering at the University of Maine in 1962, and he left in 1971 to become Head of Electrical Engineering at Tibbett's Industries in Camden, Maine.  He served Tibbett's Industries, Inc. as President from 1974 to 1986.  He then returned to the University's Electrical Engineering Department, retiring in 2006.  He taught the essentials of electronics, among other things, to all of the Electrical Engineering students during the those time periods.

"Al" was an exceptional teacher and postively affected the lives of hundreds of his students.  According to his former students, Al taught them "how to work," thereby preparing them for being particularly valuable to employers.  His "tough, but fair" approach to teaching prepared countless alumni for the rigors of the electrical engineering profession.

Every year, graduates of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering generously support their department through annual gifts. This year the department, under the leadership of Professor Mohamad Musavi, has chosen to dedicate all of those gifts to the Whitney fund. The five main undergraduate laboratories in the Department have substantial upgrade costs annually, and the Whitney fund will ensure that the students will always have the latest and best equipment for their education.

Please consider joining others who have chosen to honor and memorialize Professor Whitney and support the Department's undergraduate laboratories. Gifts may be made online using a credit card by clicking here or by using cash following the instructions on this page.  Gifts of appreciated securities may also be made.  For instructions on making a gift of appreciated securities, please click here.  Please also feel free to contact (by clicking here) the Foundation with any questions that you might have about this fund.  Thanks!