Jacqueline Davis Pirkle (red shirt), a University of Alabama chemical engineering graduate and ExxonMobil representative, presents Dr. Timothy J. Greene, dean of UA's College of Engineering, with a gift from ExxonMobil to assist the College with its academic programs. Joining the pair are the College's department heads, from left, Drs. David Cordes, Pete Morley, Gary April, Michael Triche and Steve Kavanaugh.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama’s College of Engineering received $17,000 from ExxonMobil as part of a program that contributes $1.8 million in departmental grants to 102 colleges and universities to assist these institutions with academic programs.

Selected academic departments can use the grants for educational purposes such as scholarships, field trips, visiting speakers, equipment purchases, student and faculty travel to professional meetings and other academic projects. ExxonMobil awards these grants to schools that offer degrees in fields from which the company recruits employees.

“We value our association with ExxonMobil and are very appreciative of the support they give us in our drive to continue, and expand upon, the engineering excellence at The University of Alabama,” said Dr. Timothy J. Greene, dean of engineering.

“ExxonMobil has a long history of supporting higher education, especially in the areas where our company recruits future employees,” said Sharyl Hackett, ExxonMobil campus relations and diversity manager. “With these departmental grants, our support is specifically directed to those university departments that are educating the highly-qualified graduates that ExxonMobil needs.”

The amount of the grant is based in many factors, including the number of ExxonMobil employees from a particular school and ExxonMobil’s recruiting success at the school over the past five years.

The Departmental Grants Program represents only a part of ExxonMobil’s overall support of education. In 2001, ExxonMobil Foundation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, and its divisions and affiliates provided $126 million in contributions worldwide, with $38 million dedicated to education.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so, Today, the College of Engineering has about 1,800 students and more than 90 faculty. It has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.