tDETROIT – Global automotive retail consulting firm, Urban Science, announced today that it has committed to building a $1 million endowment to support the Col. Gregory Gadson Scholarship at the Wayne State University College of Engineering in perpetuity. The scholarship will provide up to $50,000 annually to a wounded warrior to study engineering and earn an EDGE Engineering Entrepreneur Certificate.
t“We’ve all heard stories about how difficult it can be for our returning veterans to find their places in the civilian work force,” said Jim Anderson, president and CEO of Urban Science, and Wayne State University College of Engineering alumnus. “Our goal with this scholarship is to provide wounded warriors with the opportunity to earn a degree that will give them the tools to invent a new and rewarding future.”
tThe scholarship is named for Col. Gregory Gadson, U.S. Army, who lost both legs and severely injured his right arm in a May 2007 IED explosion in Iraq and is now the director of the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program.
tScholarship recipients will receive up to $50,000 a year toward tuition and other housing and educational expenses. The award is available to wounded veterans and veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
tThe first recipient of the Urban Science scholarship is Steven Patterson, a veteran of the U.S. Army and Purple Heart recipient. Patterson holds an associate degree in drafting and design technology with an overall GPA of 3.98 and will pursue a degree in engineering at Wayne State University.
tWayne State’s proximity to the Veterans Hospital and the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan allows scholarship recipients to take classes while receiving medical treatment and rehab nearby.
t“The opportunity for trained engineers to become successful entrepreneurs through their own inventions is tremendous, and exactly what the Col. Greg Gadson Scholarship will support,” said Farshad Fotouhi, Wayne State’s dean of engineering. “While many worthy organizations provide wounded veterans with donations, this scholarship will allow them to build a new life. On behalf of Wayne State University and the College of Engineering, I’d like to thank Mr. Anderson for this generous gift. Our students are very fortunate to benefit from his support and vision through this scholarship.”
tUrban Science has a long history with Wayne State University. It’s where Anderson first developed the concept for the company, which has granted gifts to Wayne State’s College of Engineering since 2004. This includes an endowment that launched and chaired a position to lead EDGE, a program created by Urban Science to identify, mold and mentor engineering students interested in considering a career as an entrepreneur and provide them the skills necessary to channel creative innovation into ventures that add value.
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tAnderson earned his bachelor’s in 1966 and his master’s in 1970 from Wayne State’s College of Engineering.
