Mariner

Alfred A. “Al” Nuttall is a retired chemical engineer who helped found FAR Research Inc., an organic chemical manufacturing firm. From 1992 to 2015, Al held several roles, culminating as president and CEO of FAR, where he orchestrated the company’s acquisition, bridged the ownership change and, ultimately, oversaw divestiture of the firm. Since retiring, Al has become involved in Florida Tech. He and his wife have established the Alfred A. & Beverly H. Nuttall Scholarship Fund for undergraduate chemical engineering students from Florida. Al has also been a speaker on campus and has coached students in interviewing to better prepare them for launching their careers.

Alvin “Al” L. Kaltman ’64 M.S. has given over $235,000 to Florida Tech. At the invitation of Ray Work, acting dean of what was then Brevard Engineering College, Al also taught a general college chemistry course. His work not only developed the search algorithm for the prototype of what became GPS, but he also designed the first game analysis programs used by several NFL teams. His career included stints as a senior executive vice president of MBNA and group vice president of GEICO Corp., as well as president and CEO roles with two companies. Al was inducted into the Florida Tech Career Hall of Fame in 2019.

American Refining Group Inc., (ARG) based in Pennsylvania, has a rated capacity of 11,000 barrels per day and processes light sweet paraffinic crude. ARG stocks are converted into high-quality waxes, lubricant base oils, gasoline and fuels, as well as a wide variety of specialty products. ARG is also committed to being a responsible corporate community member. With a philanthropic spirit that is cultivated corporately and encouraged in its employees, ARG focuses its charitable giving on education, economic development, human services and health care. The organization has funded major research projects at Florida Tech.

The Batchelor Foundation, established in 1990 by George E. Batchelor, makes grants to support children, animals and the natural environment in Florida. George’s distinguished aviation career spanned close to six decades and involved every aspect of business ownership and investment, from passenger and cargo airlines to aircraft maintenance, leasing, insurance, overhaul and repair. Prior to his death in 2002 at age 81, George donated millions of dollars, both anonymously and through the Batchelor Foundation, to nonprofits. Foundation support like this is vital to help Florida Tech maintain educational, research and institutional excellence; provide the resources to create new university programs and build new facilities; and offer financial aid to talented students with limited financial resources.

Bobbie Dyer is division president of Dyer Mortgage Group of Melbourne and an important civic leader in Brevard County. Bobbie is known to the Florida Tech community for her support of The Scott Center for Autism Treatment’s Evening of Hope and the university’s athletics fundraiser, A Sporting Affair. She serves on the board of trustees and has focused needed attention and support for the mental health of college students at Florida Tech. In 2021 Bobbie made a $50,000 commitment and established provisions in her estate for a permanent endowment to Florida Tech, naming a College of Aeronautics classroom in honor of Michael Demchak—her father-in-law and a former associate professor and flight instructor at Florida Tech—who died at age 58 in a tragic plane crash into Lake Washington.

Boeing Co. is the world's largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners, defense, space and security systems, and service provider of aftermarket support. Boeing products and tailored services include commercial and military aircraft, satellites, weapons, electronic and defense systems, launch systems, advanced information and communication systems, and performance-based logistics and training. Boeing is a proud corporate partner of Florida Tech, providing private philanthropy in support of student and faculty development, sponsored research, internships and cooperative education programs, event and program sponsorships, and in-kind donations.

URL: https://www.boeing.com/company/general-info/

Caroline Rossetter contributed over $400,000 to Florida Tech, most of which she gave through her estate upon the sale of the Rossetter House.

Caroline Rossetter was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1898 and then moved to Eau Gallie six years later where she helped her father run the family's oil business and became the Standard Oil Agent for Brevard. After her father passed away in 1921, Caroline took over her father's business and struggled through the Great Depression. Caroline also became the first woman to hold the position as Oil Agent in the United States and held the position for 62 years. She also opened the first gas pumps in Brevard County.

Once Caroline moved from the oil industry she became president of Rossetter Properties, which put an emphasis on helping the citrus, cattle, and the farm industries grow in Brevard. She was also a director of Sun First Bank from 1973 to 1979 and was on the Florida Tech Board of Trustees from 1993 until she passed in 1999. Caroline was a founding member of the Brevard Art Museum and the first and longest active member of the Brevard Art Club. She dedicated the house she lived in from 1904 to 1999 to be a museum and is now today known as the Historic Rossetter House. During the later part of the twentieth century, "Carrie" as she was known, contributed to educational institutions including Florida Tech and many other schools and community organizations.

Central Florida Kidney Centers Inc. (CFKC) had one of the first three dialysis units in Florida. CFKC is a locally managed and operated nonprofit organization with nine Central Florida facilities that are overseen by a volunteer board of directors. CFKC has a caring, knowledgeable staff of physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers and technical staff who work together to actively participate in treating and counseling pediatric and adult patients. Florida Tech trustee Dale Dettmer has also served on the board of CFKC.

URL: https://cfkc.org/submenu/history

In 1981, Christine Antoinette Mead, a longtime resident of Micco, Florida, set up a $300,000 testamentary trust, including a life estate, to benefit her friend Ethel C. Powell. In 1987, Florida Tech announced the establishment of a $300,000 trust—the Christine Antoinette Mead Athletic Scholarship—to aid student athletes.

Over the past three decades, the Coca-Cola Foundation has grown from a local foundation into a global philanthropic organization. Since its inception, the foundation has supported learning both inside and outside the classroom. The foundation’s strategies are focused on sustainability and include women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship. Since 1969, the Coca-Cola Foundation has given nearly $300,000 for an endowment to support students annually at Florida Tech. Founded in 1999, the Coca-Cola Scholarship Endowment offers financial aid to female or minority students who are majoring in engineering at Florida Tech. The F.W. Olin Foundation matches Coca-Cola’s funds.

URL: https://www.coca-colacompany.com/faqs/what-is-the-coca-cola-foundation

Founded in 1933 as a radio company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Rockwell Collins left its mark on history, from establishing communications with Rear Admiral Richard Byrd at the South Pole to helping forge today’s global positioning system. It also provided the communications equipment used by every American astronaut traveling through space, including the footage of the first step on the moon. UTC Aerospace Systems, founded in 2012, designed the spacesuits worn by America’s first astronauts during the Mercury program. As Collins Aerospace, the combined talents of both organizations are committed to honoring their strong legacies while creating comprehensive strategies to propel the industry into the future. . Collins Aerospace, which focuses its charitable giving on STEM education, provides internships to Florida Tech students, and its Green Communities Grant Program funded native, lagoon-friendly landscaping at Florida Tech’s new Alumni Center.

David A. Kriegman ’70, ’72 M.S., is president and CEO of Z2B LLC, a consulting company that provides strategic and operational advice to help companies achieve their growth goals. He is author of Zero to a Billion: 61 Rules Entrepreneurs Need to Know to Grow a Government Contracting Business and is a frequent speaker at industry and corporate events. David established a scholarship commitment to Florida Tech in his will. The scholarship is for students who make a significant contribution to the Florida Tech student body or community.

Donald Edgar “Don” Creech (1935–2000) had a natural engineering talent and a pioneering spirit, leading to many lifetime achievements in a variety of interests and a profound understanding of electrical and mechanical technology. Because of World War II and the Korean conflict, military and family commitments prevented Don from pursuing the engineering degree he had hoped for. However, his natural skills helped him begin his career as an engineer in the communications field with Western Electric in Michigan and Illinois, then GTE Planning and Development in Tampa. He retired in 1987. In 1997, he enrolled in college with the intention of obtaining the engineering degree he had always wanted, but he died before he could complete it. In honor of Don’s desire to help deserving young people seeking an engineering degree (particularly, electrical engineering), Don’s widow, Joy, established the Don Creech Memorial Scholarship Endowment for electrical engineering students who are Brevard County residents.

Douglas M. Schuler ’72, ’91 M.S., is a senior control engineer and computer control specialist for Westinghouse Corp. He has worked on projects in the United States, Canada, Algeria and China, where next-generation nuclear plants are being constructed. In 2013, he established the Douglas M. Schuler Endowment to provide scholarships to electrical and computer engineering majors. He has invested in senior design projects and is a major donor to the L3Harris Student Design Center, providing funds for equipment. He currently resides in the Boston area.

Edward S. Delaplaine II and Todd M. Wilson are both retired engineers, having met at Case Western Reserve University's engineering school. Todd went on to form his own engineering firm, while Edward worked on microgravity projects for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Upon learning about the fascinating research of Florida Tech professor Mark Bush, they became regular donors to Bush's program and in 2005, they accompanied Bush to the Galapagos Islands. While there, they and Bush’s wife, Virginia, helped collect pollen samples from a remote and unpopulated micro-island and flamingo nesting site known as Bainbridge Rocks. They describe that experience as “one of the most memorable things we have ever done.” They are both involved in volunteer work and many philanthropic endeavors, including Delaplaine Foundation Inc., the Severn River Association and the Delaplaine Arts Center in Maryland.

With a master’s in finance, Fred E. Sutton worked for the largest architectural–engineering–planning firm in the southeastern U.S., with clients like Disney World and ITT Levitt. In 1972, Fred and his brother, Harrold, co-founded Sutton Properties, now one of the largest family-owned real estate development firms in Brevard County, where they own and operate 1 million square feet of commercial, residential and industrial properties. In 2019, Fred contacted Florida Tech with a desire to lead a room-naming campaign to build an endowment for The Scott Center for Autism Treatment. Although he does not have a family connection to autism, he is a close friend of Scott Center founders Ed and Cheryl Scott and was touched by the impact the Center has on families in the community. Based on his challenge, The Scott Center raised over $700,000 in its first year to launch an endowment that will sustain its programs in perpetuity.

The following alumni worked relentlessly over a decade to develop this fund toward building a rowing center to support Florida Tech's Men and Women's Crew Teams. In 2022, these funds were used to create the Bill Jurgens Rowing Quasi-Endowment. This endowment fund will support rowing in perpetuity or until such time as a rowing center is being constructed at which time the corpus of this fund may be used to support the construction of that facility with appropriate naming to honor Bill Jurgens.

The Donors are

$50,000 or more

Anonymous

Gene Angus

Jeff Benes

$25,000 - $49,999

Anonymous

Bill Alonso

Craig McKay

Douglas M. Schuler

$10,000-$24,999

Casey & Donna Baker

Dan Copeland

Eve (Gsteiger) Duddy & John Duddy

Bill Jurgens

Greg Hogan

Henry and Sally Holzbach

Howard Klein

Nancy (Gardner) Orbell

Alan Taggart

$5,000-$9,999

Tom De Luna

Carol DeWitt

Marian Dionne

Douglas Engler

Susan McKay

Paul Mellinger

Steve Murphy

Mark Rice

Sandy Rice 

Francis Reininger

Ray Walker

Susan Wasik

$4,900 and below there are 50+ individuals who have contributed to the Bill Jurgens Fund.

George M. Skurla (1921–2001) joined what was then Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. in 1944, and he became an aeronautical engineer, eventually directing Grumman’s operations at Kennedy Space Center. He was responsible for overseeing the production of the lunar modules for the Apollo program, and he oversaw operations for the design and production of the F-14 Tomcat and the A-6 Intruder aircraft. George was elected president of Grumman in 1985 and retired the next year after 42 years with the company. He served on Florida Tech’s board of trustees, and the aeronautics building was named after him. Florida Tech also bestows the George M. Skurla Outstanding Alumni Award upon a graduate who has demonstrated a record of accomplishment in the aviation/aerospace industry and has brought recognition to his or her educational experience at Florida Tech. George gave over $300,000 to Florida Tech, including the establishment of the Northrop Grumman George M. Skurla Engineering Scholarship.

George W. Jenkins Jr. (1907–1996) was once asked how much he would be worth if he had not given so much away. His response: “Probably nothing.” George started working at his father’s general goods store in Georgia at age 12, eventually moving to Florida and working for Piggly Wiggly, moving from clerk to store manager. In 1930, he used the $1,300 he had saved to get a new car and open his own store: Publix. He innovated the supermarket experience by including automatic electric doors, fluorescent lighting, air conditioning and frozen food bins. Publix Food was ahead of the curve when, in 1984, the chain introduced the ability for customers to pay for products using debit cards. The George Jenkins Memorial Scholarship was established in 1996 to help full-time undergraduate students with demonstrated academic excellence who need financial assistance.

Gertrude E. Skelly (1918–1995) was a “Woman Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service” (WAVE) during World War II, which spurred her interest in the nursing profession. She established the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation in 1991 to provide medical care and educational opportunities for those who cannot otherwise afford them. It was also her wish to continue in the tradition of her parents, who had a strong interest in education, medicine and health care. All foundation grants must affect multiple individuals and meet some educational, medical or emergency need. The Gertrude E. Skelly Fellowship, valued at nearly $1 million, supports students in the Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences.

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Gordon Patterson, a professor in the School of Arts and Communication, is Florida Tech’s historian. He authored the important College History Series documenting the origins of the university and has won six awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is a former director of the Florida Historical Society and the Florida Humanities Council. Gordon’s wife, Joy, is an English instructor in the School of Arts and Communication and developed the Florida Tech Writers’ Den, which offers important peer tutoring in writing to students. The Pattersons have made a generous commitment to the health and vitality of the university’s botanical garden—a “living learning lab” for students and a beautiful place of contemplation and reflection—which has now been named in their honor.

The Henry Paul Clausen Scholarship was established in 1997 and provides financial aid to students through the general endowment fund. Henry and Wilma’s gift is valued at over $100,000.

Homer R. Denius (1914–2006) was an electrical engineer who, with George Shaw, co-founded defense contracting company Radiation Inc., believing that telemetry and its ancillary components were the wave of the future. Homer’s company designed and manufactured telemetry equipment for the early rockets and grew vigorously with the development of the U.S. space program. In the mid-1960s, Homer oversaw the merger of the Radiation Inc. and Harris Intertype Inc., which became Harris Corp. and today, is L3Harris Technologies Inc. Homer was an avid and effective supporter of the local educational community, providing generous financial support to Florida Tech, serving on and eventually becoming chair of its board of trustees. The Homer R. Denius Student Center is named in his honor.

James G. Kennedy Jr. (1907–1997) was the founder, president and chair of James G. Kennedy & Company Inc. in New York City, which does construction and renovation of major nonresidential buildings. Named for his father, the James G. Kennedy Sr. Library Endowment supports Evans Library resources in the fields of engineering management, information sciences and business, and it provides students with work opportunities in system design and information management.

Jim Swann is a developer of shopping centers, industrial spaces, planned communities and thousands of apartments and residential areas across Brevard County. Elizabeth Swann, known as Jonnie, was named a Florida Tech trustee in 2003. For many years, they have been instrumental in improving the university and the community. Their numerous philanthropic accomplishments include helping build the Brevard Zoo and supporting the United Way of Brevard, the Brevard Neighborhood Coalition, the Women’s Center and the Nature Conservancy. In 2017, Jim and Jonnie received the Bjorg and Bjornar Hermansen Legacy Award at the Florida Today Volunteer Recognition Awards ceremony. The award is named in part for another Florida Tech trustee, Bjornar Hermansen, who passed away in 2015.

John Slack (1944–1991) knew early in life that he wanted to serve his county. After college, he served in the Air Force for several years, then worked at the National Security Agency (NSA), ultimately holding several executive-level positions. Following his NSA service, he was assistant secretary of defense for intelligence during the Carter Administration. After retirement from government service, John moved to Florida and became a successful entrepreneur, bringing fresh life and success to multiple defense electronics organizations. He proudly served on the board of trustees for Florida Tech for 20 years, and he and his wife, Shirley, are longtime donors to the university—the bronze panther statue in front of Panther Dining Hall was their gift to the campus—and are supporters of Florida Tech’s Scott Center for Autism Treatment. Shirley also established the Shirley Mataxis Slack Engineering Scholarship for Women Athletes, which supports female athletes in the College of Engineering and Science.

John and Susan Hopkins understand the important role grandparents can play when a child has autism because their granddaughter, Elizabeth, was autistic. They say Florida Tech’s Scott Center for Autism Treatment services had a profound effect on Elizabeth, helping her develop the skills necessary for a richer and less-challenged life. Susan and John have served as honorary co-chairs for our The Scott Center’s Evening of Hope event. The funds raised from the event go toward research, treatment, subsidies and The Scott Center’s WISH scholarships, which provide early intervention treatment for children with autism and related disorders to families that otherwise could not afford it.

The Kresge Foundation is a private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development. The foundation is particularly interested in the environment and funded research on sea-level rise in Florida, and it has donated over $200,000 to Florida Tech.

URL: https://kresge.org/about-us/

Lockheed Martin Corp. is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 110,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. As part of its efforts to educate and inspire tomorrow’s scientists, engineers and mathematicians, Lockheed Martin’s approach to STEM outreach includes support for programs, events and campaigns that focus on student achievement, teacher development and gender and ethnic diversity. Lockheed Martin is a proud corporate partner of Florida Tech, making direct grants and donations and offering internships and cooperative education programs.

URL: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/who-we-are/communities/stem-education.html

Martin E. Dandridge worked at Northrop Grumman Corp. for 40 years, eventually becoming president of its Melbourne division in 1991 and retiring as executive vice president for its Integrated Systems in 2007. Martin served on Florida Tech’s board of trustees, as well as the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. Martin is a member of the Ad Astra Society, a lifetime giving society that consists of individuals who have given a minimum of $10,000 to Florida Tech.

Michael H. “Mike” Williams Sr. founded the Melbourne-based M. H. Williams Construction Group Inc. in 1987, providing design, administration, project supervision, project management and technical expertise for a wide variety of corporate projects. His son, Mike Williams Jr., joined the company in 2005 and is now its president. Mike Sr. and his son believe in giving back to local communities through charitable donations, sponsorships and volunteer work, giving financial support to the Brevard Zoo, Nana’s House and The Scott Center for Autism Treatment at Florida Tech.

Michael “Mike” and Patricia “Pat” Scafati met and married in Massachusetts, but Mike’s military career brought him to Melbourne, where he taught in Florida Tech’s ROTC program. They liked the area and remained through the late ’60s and early ’70s, and kept a home here, even after Mike became a financial advisor at Edwards Financial and moved to St. Louis, finally retiring from the company after 40 years. But he always enjoyed returning to Melbourne and served over two decades on Florida Tech’s board of trustees. The Scafatis have funded the Michael and Patricia Scafati Scholarship for students in the Bisk College of Business, one of the largest of Florida Tech’s endowed scholarship funds.

After graduation, Nelson Cambata ’78 began working for the family business. He is now the chairperson and CEO of Cambata Aviation, an international company employing over 7,000 people worldwide, and StarPort Aviation in Sanford, Florida. Nelson is a board member for Business Executives for National Security and a member of the President’s Circle for the Experimental Aircraft Association, the Green Jacket Club and the Explorers Club. In 2013, he received the Florida Tech Skurla Award, given to alumni who excel and proudly represent Florida Tech in the aviation industry, and he has been a generous donor over the years.

Paul Chell (1922–2012) received his pilot’s license in 1943 and spent 19 months as a pilot and flight test maintenance officer in the Asiatic–Pacific Theater. He was a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and flew 64 types of aircraft and 93 airplane models. He finally ended up at Patrick Air Force Base, today Patrick Space Force Base, before his retirement. Paul and his wife of 65 years, Lois, established two endowed scholarship funds at Florida Tech: the Paul L. Chell Endowment in Memory of Jerome P. Keuper, one for students in the College of Aeronautics and the other for students in the College of Engineering and Science.

Rick Stottler (1935–2010) came to Cocoa Beach in 1958 and opened Stottler Stagg & Associates Architects. He was an avid athlete in softball, basketball and soccer, becoming a soccer coach for Cocoa Beach High School and Florida Tech, and winning two NCAA Division II National Championships. Rick posted an incredible record of 190-66-12 during his 14-year tenure as Florida Tech men’s soccer head coach. The .731 winning percentage is among the best of all time in the history of NCAA Division II men’s college soccer. Rick was very generous in raising money for Florida Tech, and the Rick Stottler Soccer Field at the F.W. Olin Sports Complex is named in his honor.

Thomas E. McNamara (1910–2007) was known as a caring and generous individual, who always sought to help young people achieve their goals and give back to their community. He and his wife, Lois R. (1914–2007), donated more than $440,000 during their lifetimes. The McNamaras established the Melissa Lee Crist Honorary Scholarship in 1998 to honor their granddaughter, Melissa Lee Crist ’92, who was injured in a car accident shortly after graduation. The McNamaras also established and endowed the Thomas E. and Lois R. McNamara Scholarship a year later.

Tom J. Folliard Jr. ’89 took his B.S. in business administration and management and joined CarMax Inc. in 1993 as the company’s very first employee, eventually becoming president and CEO in 2006, where he remained for the next decade. Since then, CarMax has grown into the largest used-vehicle retailer. In 2019, Tom and his wife, Mary’92, were the lead donors for the Folliard Alumni Center. The sleek new building is both aesthetically pleasing and energy-efficient, with ecofriendly features at the core of its design and goals, setting the standard for sustainability, collaboration and alumni events. Both Tom and Mary were athletes during their years at Florida Tech.

United Way, as we know it today, was developed in the early 20th century, when business and labor leaders joined together to reduce the number of charitable appeals by conducting a single efficient fundraising drive. United Way of Brevard County was started in 1957 by a group of concerned individuals who wanted to help people in need. Today, United Way of Brevard and Florida Tech have a close working relationship. Florida Tech mounts annual fundraising campaigns on behalf of United Way, and United Way has been an organizational supporter of Florida Tech for many years.

William “Randy” Muns ’78, ’80 M.B.A., lettered in baseball for four years while at Florida Tech. Randy’s love for the game was evidenced by his generous support for the new baseball field, the Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field, and his  gift helped Florida Tech reach its fundraising goal of lighting the baseball field. He now heads Advanced Global Resources LLC, a management consulting firm. During his 25-year career, he has participated in over 20 acquisitions and sales of technology companies in both public and private transactions. Randy also serves on Florida Tech’s board of trustees.

William C. Potter is a retired attorney, serving as president of Potter, MacLellan, Griffith & Jones P.A. (the city attorneys for Melbourne and Indialantic, Florida) from 1984 to 1999, then working for Holland & Knight LLP until he retired in 2002. William also served as chair of Florida Tech’s board of trustees from 1990 to 1997, and he chaired the search committee to hire a new president for Florida Tech in 1998. William has established the William and Wendy Potter School of Business Scholarship for students who demonstrate scholastic achievement, leadership qualities, exceptional character, high motivation and a commitment to the community.