NEWS RELEASE

SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2008

Contact:
Pat Lopes Harris, SJSU media relations, 408-924-1748
Joy Leighton, Davidson College of Engineering, 408-924-3838

Newnan Brothers Gift
$1 Million Gift from Retired Faculty to Support Existing Faculty

SAN JOSE, Calif., -- San José State's Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering has established the Newnan Brothers Excellence in Teaching Endowment to recognize and honor outstanding achievement in teaching by faculty members. The endowment was made possible by a $1 million gift from Don Newnan and his late brother Dean Newnan, alumni and former faculty members of the Davidson College of Engineering. The endowment's debut will be celebrated at the Davidson College's 2008 Engineering Awards Banquet on Wednesday, April 30, in the Fairmont San José.

"San José State is home for me because I spent so many important years here," Don Newnan said. "Both my brother and I earned degrees at San José State, and we both taught in the College of Engineering. We understood that one of the driving forces behind San José State is high-quality teachers, and we wanted to ensure that faculty excellence can continue to be encouraged and rewarded in the years to come."

The Newnans are native Californians whose parents and grandparents were Santa Clara Valley orchard farmers. Don Newnan earned a B.S. in engineering from San José State. He went on to earn his M.B.A., M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Stanford University. Don returned to San José State in 1959 to join the industrial and systems engineering faculty, and served as interim dean of engineering in 1978 and 1979. He retired in 1983 as professor emeritus, and subsequently served as president of Engineering Press Inc. in San José and the Tech Publishing Corp. in Las Vegas, where he currently resides.

Dean Newnan began his studies at San José State, then transferred and received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He subsequently returned to San José State and received an M.S. in chemistry. He earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Edinburgh. Dean Newnan returned again to San José State in 1967 to teach both general and chemical engineering. He was on faculty when he died in 1981 at age 59.

"The Newnan Brothers Endowment is the first-ever Davidson College program to recognize and help retain distinguished faculty members," said Belle Wei, SJSU's Don Beall Dean of Engineering. "Both Don and Dean have a unique perspective. As graduates and faculty members of the college, they recognize the essential role and appreciate the dedication of our faculty in impacting our students' careers and lives. On behalf of the college, I want to convey my gratitude to the Newnan family for their great generosity."

The Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering at San José State University, the leading provider of engineers to Silicon Valley companies, has nearly 5,000 students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs. The college offers engineering degrees in aerospace, chemical, computer, electrical, general, materials, mechanical, civil and environmental, industrial and systems, and aviation and technology. SJSU's engineering program is ranked among the top 20 master's-level programs in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey of "America's Best Colleges 2008."