Office of Development and Alumni Relations

First Interdisciplinary Fellowship Established in Kinesiology and Engineering

The first fully-funded endowed fellowship in the College of Applied Life Studies was recently established. A gift of $500,000 from William A. and Carol L. Chittenden of Elmhurst, Illinois, will fund a fellowship and graduate award in the department of general engineering as well as a scholarship and fellowship in the department of kinesiology. The fellowships will promote collaborative, interdisciplinary research between the departments.

The Chittenden Fellowships qualify under the Provost’s Matching Fellowship Funds Program, becoming the first endowed fellowship for each of the two departments and the campus’s first interdisciplinary fellowships that merge graduate education and research across the College of Engineering and the College of Applied Life Studies. In addition to funding the fellowships, the couple’s gift provides an endowed scholarship in kinesiology and an endowed graduate award in general engineering.

The Chittendens have a long and strong connection to the University. They have provided generous support for many years to the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics’ I FUND. Since 1981, 12 William A. Chittenden II Awards have helped students in the Department of General Engineering. Since 1991, 23 Carol L. Chittenden Scholarships in Kinesiology have been awarded.

Carol Chittenden, a physical education major while at the University, has been a strong advocate of physical fitness, serving as a volunteer for several community health organizations.

A 1950 general engineering graduate, Bill Chittenden spent most of his professional career with the Chicago firm Sargent & Lundy as an expert in the project management of fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. He retired as senior partner in 1991. He received the General Engineering Gamma Epsilon Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1978 and the Alumni Honor Award for Distinguished Service from the College of Engineering in 1989. He remains actively involved with the College of Engineering, serving on the Dean’s Board of Visitors since its inception in 1981.

“This gift makes an important statement about the value of interdisciplinary research and teaching,” states Dean Tanya Gallagher. “We are truly grateful to Carol and Bill for their extraordinary generosity.”