Doosan and Bobcat Co. donated $3 million to North Dakota State University to fund a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related scholarship program. The state of North Dakota will match the donation by adding $1.5 million, making the combined $4.5 million gift the single largest gift to establish a scholarship endowment in NDSU history.
Prior to a press conference announcing the gift, the formal agreement was signed by NDSU president Dean Bresciani and Doosan Group chairman Y.M. Park, who traveled from Seoul, South Korea, to Fargo, N.D., for the event. Scott Park, president and CEO of Doosan Infracore Bobcat Holdings Co., and Rick Goldsbury, president of Doosan and Bobcat Co. North America were also present. Y.M. Park is also chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The endowment will distribute about $180,000 in scholarships per year in perpetuity. Scholarship distribution will begin this year.
“STEM-related areas help fuel innovation, which is the very foundation of our business and the key to our future,” said Goldsbury. “This endowment will help students fulfill their aspirations in engineering and other innovation-related professions. They may end up working for Doosan and Bobcat Co., but even if they stay and put their talents to work at other companies in the state or region, it’s a benefit to our communities.”
Doosan and Bobcat Co. began a research partnership with NDSU in 2005, becoming the anchor tenant at the NDSU Technology Incubator. Through the partnership, Bobcat established engineering and product testing facilities that include 15,000 square feet of floor space for up to 50 Bobcat employees, a working technology lab and an indoor machine testing area. The partnership expanded in 2013 with a $400,000 donation from Doosan and Bobcat Co. The program paired research and development hubs across the state’s university and college campuses with private companies, in an effort to stimulate economic growth.
Goldsbury added that much of the work done collaboratively between Doosan and Bobcat and NDSU students can impact global development and production of equipment.
