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One Day for UK is April 21!

April 13, 2021

On April 21, we need you and the entire UK College of Engineering family to unite once again and raise money for student scholarships. Four donors have created giving thresholds that could unlock up to $140,000 in gifts toward scholarships. 

On April 21, we need you and the entire UK College of Engineering family to unite once again and raise money for student scholarships. This pandemic is not over, and our students still need your support! Help them become the engineers who will make our communities stronger and safer. 

Four donors have created giving thresholds that will encourage you to give multiple times and challenge your friends and fellow alumni to get in on the fun!

  • David Ratterman (BSME 1968) will donate $5,000 toward scholarships when we reach 100 gifts
  • Kenneth Wheeler will donate $35,000 toward scholarships for the UK College of Engineering Extended Campus at Paducah (UK Paducah) when we reach 250 gifts.
  • Zudy Software will donate $50,000 toward scholarships when we reach 400 gifts.
  • Richard Simpson (BSME 1984) will also give $50,000 toward scholarships when we reach 600 gifts.

 

OUR CHALLENGES  

DAVID B. RATTERMAN (BSME 1968): Donating $5,000 toward scholarships at 100 gifts

“My brother and I were the first persons in our family to attend high school, and I would not have been able to continue on to the University of Kentucky without the assistance of an engineering scholarship.  My engineering education was the passport to a life that I could not imagine when I started college 57 years ago. Those of us who have benefitted from receiving an engineering education can make no greater contribution to society than by providing an engineering education to the deserving students who follow us.” – David Ratterman

David Ratterman is a member of the Construction Service Group at Stites & Harbison, PLLC. A general construction law expert specializing in the fabricated structural steel industry, Mr. Ratterman has developed a national legal practice and advanced the study and practice of construction law in the United States. He has also become an internationally recognized writer and speaker on a wide variety of legal and engineering topics. Mr. Ratterman lives in Louisville with his wife, Lois.  

KENNETH WHEELER: Donating $35,000 toward scholarships for the UK College of Engineering Extended Campus at Paducah at 250 gifts.

“Since admitting its first students in 1998, the Paducah campus has graduated over 400 mechanical and chemical engineers who meet the same high standards of the Lexington campus and many of whom are employed in the immediate area. Recognizing that college student expenses today exceed the available governmental funding, I have promoted the initiation of the Engineering Opportunity Scholarship Program Fund, which will assist in meeting unforeseen or emergent financial challenges and provide additional encouragement to students to complete their baccalaureate degree.”  - Kenneth Wheeler

Kenneth Wheeler is a long-time advocate and supporter of the UK College of Engineering. He was one of the early advocates of bringing the engineering program to Paducah, Kentucky, as an extension program in 1998. He remains one of UK Paducah’s most enthusiastic and generous supporters. Mr. Wheeler enjoyed a 42-year career in the maritime industry that spanned shipbuilding to inland shipping. He and his wife, Doris Jean Wheeler (1933-2018) were married for sixty-three years.  

ZUDY SOFTWARE: Donating $50,000 to endow a scholarship fund at 400 gifts.

"Zudy is thrilled to partner with the University of Kentucky College of Engineering by providing financial assistance in the support of innovation and technology education. Students at UK are exceptionally talented and will help build our future--let's make sure we help them." - Trish Kennedy, Founder @Zudy

Zudy Software was founded in 2013 by husband and wife Tom and Trish Kennedy. The company created an application development system, VINYL, that is the world’s only no-code, end-to-end enterprise development platform. VINYL allows users the ability to build, in weeks, highly configurable apps that are designed to integrate seamlessly into all existing and future data sources and systems, whereas conventional software and app development teams can take months to build one usable application.  

RICHARD SIMPSON (BSME 1984): Donating $50,000 to endow a scholarship fund at 600 gifts.

“Donna and I decided to give at this time because we have been so blessed. According to Luke 12:48, ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’ As a first-time college graduate from my family, Donna and I had an opportunity to do things that many can only dream. My education at the University of Kentucky College of Engineering was a foundation for us to build a life. When we have been blessed, it should be expected to bless others. We are all in a different place, but we can all do something. it may be small but think of it as seed. While the seed is in your hand, it cannot grow, it is only when we sow our seed that it can grow. I am asking each of you to sow some seed in the next generation of leaders and engineers.” – Richard Simpson

Richard Simpson is a vice president for General Electric. He has been a part of the GE family of businesses since 1984 and has spent his career in global supply chain. During that time, he has served in numerous executive and management roles taken several courses in Executive Development and Business Management at the GE Crotonville Leadership Institute. Mr. Simpson and his wife, Donna, live in Georgetown, Kentucky. 

You can give here and join us as we unite to invest in a better future for our engineering students, the engineering profession and our world!