MSU Engineering Gets $1 Million For Professorship In Electromagnetics

EAST LANSING – A retired Michigan State University professor has made a $1 million commitment to benefit the MSU College of Engineering with a professorship in electromagnetics.

The gift is being established through an estate plan from Dennis P. Nyquist of East Lansing, Mich., a former faculty member and graduate of the MSU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

?Both the college and ECE department were instrumental in my professional growth, so I am delighted to support MSU and advance electromagnetics with this gift,? Nyquist said. ?As a retired faculty member, I appreciate the value and prestige that endowed positions bring by attracting and retaining top quality faculty members to the college.?

Tim Hogan, interim chair of MSU?s ECE department, said electromagnetics is a pillar in the foundation of electrical engineering and part of the core requirements in MSU?s program. ?Dennis Nyquist brought distinction to MSU through his profound contributions to the field of electromagnetics. This endowed gift will attract new faculty to carry on this tradition.?

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said the gift will help Michigan State step up its competitiveness and nourish its culture of high performance. ?Endowed chairs and professorships give our deans and leaders a powerful means of attracting the next generation of MSU faculty,? she said. ?We are grateful to Professor Nyquist not only for all his years of service that helped make MSU a top university today but also for his generous investment in MSU?s future.?

Endowed professorships and chair positions are the highest level of faculty distinction. The support from an endowment provides a dependable, perpetual source of funding to support the position, as well as the ability to conduct research and scholarship as new opportunities arise.

MSU College of Engineering Dean Leo Kempel said: ?These kinds of endowed positions are crucial in recruiting and developing faculty members who can uphold Dennis? profound legacy of professional contributions and the highest level of scholarship.?