COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Ruth and William "Bill" Cowan of Houston will endow a mechanical engineering scholarship at Texas A&M University.

The Ruth Partridge and William C. "Bill" Cowan '49 Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering, a planned gift from their estate, will be funded through the Texas A&M Foundation.

"We are grateful to God and Texas A&M for all the blessings we have had and hope this scholarship will allow future Aggies to experience the same," said Bill Cowan, retired production manager with Amoco Australia Petroleum Co.

Scholarship recipients will be graduates of Texas high schools with less than 400 students. Preference will be give to members of the Corps of Cadets who demonstrate financial need and a high level of moral character.

"The Ruth and William `Bill' Cowan scholarship is a reminder to our current students of the impact that a mechanical engineering education can have on their careers. We are thankful to the Cowans for providing this scholarship and are delighted that this award will make the difference in the academic careers of the students who receive it," said Dr. Dennis O'Neal, mechanical engineering department head and holder of the Holdredge-Paul Professorship.

A native of McKinney, Cowan enrolled at Texas A&M in September 1945. The following summer he joined the U.S. Army and served with occupation forces in Korea. The G.I. Bill enabled Cowan to return to Texas A&M where he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1953.

A distinguished student, he was a member of C Company Infantry in the Corps of Cadets and president of his campus hometown club.

Upon graduation he embarked on a 33-year career with Stanolind, which became Amoco Production Co. He served in various domestic and international locations with Amoco including West Texas, Chicago, Houston, London, Trinidad, Egypt and Australia before retiring in 1986.

Ruth graduated from Pittsburg High School and attended business college in Fort Worth. She then worked for Republic Bank in Dallas and, after marriage to Bill in 1953, became a full-time mother to their four children.

In their retirement the Cowans are active in the Presbyterian church and enjoy their role as grandparents. They are Heritage members of the A&M Legacy Society, which recognizes supporters for cumulative lifetime and estate giving to the university.

"Planned gifts like the Cowans' scholarship are integral for the future success of Texas A&M, the mechanical engineering department and the students who will benefit from this scholarship. We are so thankful for their commitment to future generations of Aggies," said Kelly Corcoran, director of development for engineering with the Texas A&M Foundation.

Texas A&M's mechanical engineering department is ranked 9th in undergraduate and 12th in graduate programs according to U.S. News & World Report. The magazine ranks the Dwight Look College of Engineering 9th in undergraduate and 7th in graduate programs among public universities in the nation.

For more information, contact

Reporter: Emily L. Whitmoyer
emilywhitmoyer@tees.tamus.edu

News Story 1847, May 7, 2008

Direct page link:
http://engineeringnews.tamu.edu/news/1847

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