During a special ceremony at UNT Research Park, Paccar Inc. of Bellevue, Wash. – acting through its foundation – has announced a $1.5 million donation to the University of North Texas to benefit research and teaching in the UNT College of Engineering. The $1.5 million gift will establish the Paccar Technology Institute and fund the Paccar Professorship of Engineering at the UNT Research Park College of Engineering in Denton, Texas, where Peterbilt Motors Co. is headquartered.
“The gift from the Paccar Foundation is a very generous investment in the communities of North Texas, with far-reaching international potential through the many lives it will enrich and educational research it will enhance,” says Dan Sobic, Paccar vice president and Peterbilt general manager. “Paccar has again demonstrated its commitment to being a global technology leader by helping cultivate the engineering and technology leaders of tomorrow.”
“This is a great opportunity for UNT to collaborate with a company that has a significant impact on the development of transportation solutions and technologies,” says UNT President Gretchen Bataille.
Both the Paccar Technology Institute and Paccar Professorship of Engineering will be within University of North Texas’ College of Engineering, which includes programs for electrical engineering, engineering technology, computer science and engineering, material science and engineering, and mechanical and energy engineering. The College of Engineering enrolls about 1,400 students, of which about 20 percent are in graduate programs. Total enrollment at the University of North Texas is more than 33,000.
“We have enjoyed a long and beneficial relationship with Peterbilt and Paccar, and we are pleased that through the gift of the Paccar Foundation, this will be taken to an even greater level,” says Oscar Garcia, dean of the College of Engineering. “UNT’s College of Engineering is renowned for its theoretical and practical multidisciplinary achievements. Our work complements the many technological innovations of Peterbilt and Paccar.”
About one third of the Paccar Foundation gift will go toward the Paccar Professorship of Engineering; it will fund a full-time tenured professor within the college. The remaining donation will be used toward establishing the Paccar Technology Institute within the University of North Texas’ Research Park facility, a 550,000-square-foot complex on more than 300 acres located north of the main campus.
While plans for the Paccar Technology Institute are in development, it will likely include state-of-the-art offices, classrooms and laboratories. Paccar Institute of Technology signage will be present on the exterior and interior of the building, as well as the surrounding area. Additionally, a Paccar representative will be a member of the college’s advisory board to help develop and guide the program.
