Development News
Terracon Foundation awards grant to Tennessee Tech for STEAM scholarships for diverse student populations
The Terracon Foundation recently announced a $5,000 grant for Tennessee Tech to support students pursuing a degree in one of the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) fields. This grant will be used to establish the Terracon Foundation Annual STEAM Scholarship for Diversity and Inclusion and will be awarded to students representing diverse student populations.
“It’s simple mathematics,” said Robert Owens, Tech’s chief diversity officer. “The more contributions we receive towards our diversity scholarship initiative, the more scholarship dollars we can offer to talented students of color to attend our fine institution. Companies like Terracon are integral to the growth of this scholarship initiative.”
Extending a Tech education to a diverse student population is critical. While Tech’s student body has become more diverse throughout the years, increasing ethnic diversity on the Tech campus remains a critical part of the university’s mission to expand opportunity and economic competitiveness. Tech set an initial goal of $2 million for the Diversity Scholarship Initiative.
The Terracon Foundation Annual STEAM Scholarship for Diversity and Inclusion awards one scholarship to each ethnic population represented at Tech: American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Black/African American, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Hispanic and White.
John Agee, a 1990 Tech civil engineering graduate and regional manager in Terracon’s Nashville office, championed the grant for the university.
“I’m delighted that Terracon can provide aid to aspiring students,” said Agee. “I was fortunate to have aid when attending Tennessee Tech, and this allowed me to focus on my education and preparation for the workplace and diminish stress on finances. Today, I personally give to the Civil and Environmental Engineering program where I earned my degree and hope that Terracon and Tech will forge a long-term relationship to further STEM-related education for aspiring scientists and engineers.”
Since 2008, the Terracon Foundation has granted more than $3 million to community organizations, universities, dependents of employees, and for disaster relief efforts. Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 5,000 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services from more than 150 offices with services available in all 50 states.
