Walker Establishes Endowment for Engineering Scholarships

The William F. and Myrna Walker Family Endowment for Scholarships at Auburn University for the Department of Mechanical Engineering is available to rising juniors and seniors and made possible through a gift of $500,000. It will support the continued vision of the College of Engineering to attract outstanding students.

Walker has served as professor, dean, provost, and president at Auburn University. There are very few faculty, staff or students who have not shaken his hand or heard his name, and his retirement this fall will leave behind a rich legacy.

As dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering from 1988 to 1998, Walker was a leader who developed core fundraising tools that have since served as a university model and helped create the BellSouth Minority Engineering Program, a recruitment program that has driven black freshmen retention rates from 33 percent to 70 percent within the college.

"With this endowment, Dr. Walker leaves a legacy that displays his commitment to education and to excellence," says Larry Benefield, dean of the College of Engineering. "We are deeply appreciative for his vision in making this scholarship available and assisting in the success of engineering students. Auburn University is a better place because Bill Walker was here."