Kent State’s Construction Management program will be receiving a $50,000 donation from Brewer-Garrett to support the creation of two endowed scholarships.

Brewer-Garrett pledged to donate $10,000 each year for five years. A $25,000 endowed scholarship will be created after three years, and after five years, a second one will be created.

Lou Joseph, Brewer-Garrett’s CEO and president, and Kelly Tisdale, the company’s energy services general manager, announced the gift to the program Monday in the Applied Engineering building. Tisdale has been the point person for Brewer-Garrett’s projects at Kent State.

Brewer-Garrett is a Cleveland-based commercial energy services company. The company has worked on many buildings on campus, including the majority of the dorms to conserve energy and reduce utility costs.

The company is also involved in the university’s student chapter of the Mechanical Contractors’ Association of Cleveland. Over the past few years, Brewer-Garrett has hired four to five graduates as well as interns like senior construction management major Adam Horrocks, who has been working as an intern part-time with the company since April 2015.

Horrocks said he accepted the internship after hearing all the positive things Brewer-Garrett does with energy conservation projects across Ohio.

“Overall it has been a phenomenal experience so far,” Horrocks said. “I have learned from some of the industry’s best and this internship has definitely broadened my knowledge of the mechanical side of construction.”

The $50,000 endowed scholarship fund was created to support students in the construction management program, with a preference to students who are actively engaged in the construction management student organizations.

This scholarship is one of the first of many the construction management program hopes to create for students in the major.

“We just started a scholarship campaign for 10 endowed scholarships,” Joe Karpinski, the construction management program coordinator, said. “One scholarship will begin each time we hit the $25,000 mark.”

Karpinski said the program is currently seeking out companies that have hired interns or full-time employees from the program, former graduates of the program or any other individuals who may want to contribute.

Currently, Karpinski said the college already has one other endowed scholarship from Associated General Contractors of Ohio that was donated three years ago. He said this scholarship was a donation of $25,000 and pays out $1,000 per year in scholarships because of accrued interest on the scholarship money.  

“All good programs around the country have endowed scholarships available for their students,” Karpinski said. “We want to be there as well providing scholarships for our construction management students and help reduce their costs and ultimately school loan debt.”

Jenna Kuczkowski is the college of applied engineering reporter for the Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].