Alum commits $1M to BME scholarships and capstone projects
Sherry (left) and Don McDonald’s bequest supports biomedical engineering capstone projects and scholarships for hometown students.
University of Arizona alum Don McDonald and his wife Sherry bequeathed $1 million for scholarships and biomedical engineering capstone projects. The funds are meant to help BME students and Arizona high schoolers pursue careers in engineering and support the department's capstone design projects.
“I’m thankful to Sherry and Don for making this commitment to the department and the college,” said Mario Romero-Ortega, head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. “This supports our shared vision of training students to solve pressing medical challenges with innovation and collaborative work and who will improve health care in Arizona and the nation.”
Don earned his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from U of A in 1965, after which he built a 40-year career working with semiconductor technologies. In 2016, he served as a judge for the Craig M. Berge Design Day. Two years later he became an interdisciplinary capstone team mentor.
“When I first came, I chose some biomedical projects,” he said. “I found that I really liked the intersection of engineering and medicine. It seemed to be an underserved area.”
He plans to continue mentoring and wants the endowments to help shape the next generation of engineers.
“I like this mentoring job because I think I have an impact on the students. I think it’s good for them, and frankly it’s good for me,” Don said.
“It keeps me focused on what is going on with the newer generation of engineers, and I can help guide those people to be better at establishing their careers and joining the engineering community as a whole.”