Gray Scholarship fund. The program, which will establish a perpetual $250,000 endowment fund for educational scholarships, benefits students pursuing careers in instrumentation, automation and systems technology.
The scholarship honors the memory of James O. “Jim” Gray, a long-time FF member and active supporter, who passed away in 2002. Three scholarships were awarded during the 2003-2004 school year, and more will be awarded for 2004-2005, as the endowment fund grows.
Five leading educational institutions currently participate in the program and choose the recipients. They include Lee College, Baytown, Texas; Shipping and Transport College, Brielle, The Netherlands; Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore; Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
Fieldbus Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Timoney encourages all automation industry participants to contribute to the fund, citing a BP Corp. analysis that predicts a 40 percent shortage within five years of qualified personnel necessary to engineer and maintain process plant operations. “Industrial manufacturers around the world face a very significant challenge: keeping pace with the accelerating retirement rate for today’s experienced technicians and operators,” notes Timoney.
Donations to the endowed scholarship fund are invested on a permanent basis, with the interest and dividends from the investment funding scholarships for deserving students.
For more information about James O. Gray Scholarship contributions, please contact the Fieldbus Foundation at 512.794.8890, ext. 21; e-mail scholarship@fieldbus.org; or visit www.fieldbus.org/scholarship.
