Giving

In 2012, the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering moved to a new phase in its development, made possible through generous philanthropy.  This began with the creation of a $1M teaching lab.  Four companies — Balfour Beatty Construction; Lane Construction; Shirley Contracting; and Gauthier, Alvarado & Associates — offered construction and design services to leverage university money several times over to construct the lab.  The next phase was to equip that lab:  Shirley Contracting and Lane Construction stepped up again with major gifts, and Dominion Energy donated funds for a Universal Testing Machine.  But many modest gifts together can be just as powerful.  Companies and individuals made generous gifts to create a lab that has transformed our students’ education.

On the heels of this success, a commitment from Balfour Beatty Construction now allows the department to offer a $10,000 Balfour Beatty Distinguished Graduate Fellowship to recruit truly outstanding graduate students to study with our faculty.

And Sid and Reva Dewberry – long time supporters and advocates for the department  – made a very major gift.  To honor them, the department has become the first named department at George Mason University.

This momentum has opened exciting new possibilities for the department.  Each new gift – large or small — takes us to a new level.    Brainstorm with us to develop and underwrite a great new initiative.  Open a door for an eager undergraduate to take a place in our department.  Fund a distinguished fellowship to recruit a graduate student who will push engineering science forward.   Pledge a gift for our new laboratory that has transformed our students’ educational experience.  Support a student-driven activity that pulls together education, imagination, excitement, and leadership.  Join us.

Recognition: Leave a legacy that creates opportunities for students with a lifetime to benefit from your gift.  Every gift is important.  Major gifts in categories of:

  • Contributors                    $1,000 to $9,999
  • Sponsors                     $10,000 to $99,999
  • Benefactors             $100,000 to $999,999
  • Patrons                 $1,000,000 and greater

are recognized on our wall of donors in the heart of our department.

Ways of Giving: Giving can be directed toward a particular initiative, for example, our teaching laboratory, an undergraduate scholarship, a graduate fellowship, a student and faculty travel fund, an endowed faculty chair, or support for a student group. Or it can be an undesignated gift ready for investment in a strategic initiative at just the right moment.

Giving can be planned as a single gift, as a planned series of gifts, or as part of estate planning. It can be in the form of:

  • Cash (checks should be made payable to GMU Foundation and sent to the CEIE Department Chairman)
  • Securities
  • Estate Plans
  • Gifts-in-kind
  • Life Insurance
  • Retirement Plan Assets
  • Real Estate

Click here to pull up a pledge card.

The first step: To discuss giving to the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, contact:

Dr. Deborah Goodings
CEIE Chairman, and Dewberry Professor of Civil Engineering
goodings@gmu.edu
ph: 703-993-1675
Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering
Volgenau School of Engineering
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MS 6C1
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
USA