March 19, 2007
Engineering scholarship winners named
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Officials named the first six recipients of an engineering scholarship funded by a Southern Illinois University Carbondale distinguished alumnus and his wife.
The scholarship, known as "The Blaudow — ATS Program for Technical Leadership in Manufacturing." is aimed at graduating community college students who are transferring into an engineering program at SIUC. A $14,000 value, the scholarship is designed to cover virtually all tuition and fees during the students' junior and senior years, and provides a paid internship with Advanced Technology Services Inc, the company founded by donor Richard W. Blaudow and his wife, Brigitte.
ATS provides managed services for production equipment maintenance, industrial parts repair and industrial technology infrastructure support for manufacturers. The couple gave the University $250,000 last year to fund the annual scholarships, which will identify and support the future engineering leaders who will help sustain American manufacturing in the future.
A committee consisting of SIUC College of Engineering Dean William P. Osborne, Interim Associate Dean John W. Nicklow and ATS President Jeff Owens selected the six winners from a field of 33 applicants after conducting a search at all Illinois community colleges. The committee selected winners based on their work ethic and leadership potential, as well as their academic work.
The first scholarship winners are:
• Jana R. Aylsworth, 19, a mechanical engineering major and daughter of Jay and Ruth Aylsworth of Troy. She currently attends Southwestern Illinois College.
• Max A. Kleiboeker, 19, of Mount Vernon, an electrical engineering technology major. Kleiboeker currently attends Rend Lake College in Ina.
• Tyler C. Madding, 19, an industrial technology major and son of Jerry and Judy Madding of Decatur. He currently attends the Morrison Institute of Technology in Morrison.
• Jerry W. Teel Jr., 28, of Milledgeville, an industrial technology major. He currently attends Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon.
* Matthew R. Morgan, 20, of Anna, a double major in computer engineering and electrical engineering. Morgan currently attends Shawnee Community College in Ullin.
• Haley M. Constable, 19, an industrial technology major and daughter of Mark and Kris Constable of Carterville. She currently attends John A. Logan College in Carterville.
All scholarship winners plan to start classes at SIUC this fall.
Students who complete their education and the leadership program will be eligible for advanced entry positions at ATS, said Bruce DeRuntz, associate professor of technology in the SIUC College of Engineering, who helped coordinate the scholarship selection process.
"ATS wants to help develop those leaders of tomorrow and this scholarship is an excellent way for the company to do that," he said.
A native of Seymour, Blaudow graduated from Mahomet-Seymour High School in 1964. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology at SIUC in 1970. He worked at Caterpillar Inc. for 17 years, working with manufacturing production equipment before spinning off his own company in 1985. ATS now employs more than 1,500 people and has more than 150 customer-site locations in the U.S. and Mexico.
Blaudow previously served on the board of the SIU Foundation and was chair of the Engineering Equipment Campaign at SIUC. The SIU Alumni Association honored him as a Distinguished Alumni in 1998. The couple now resides in Key Colony Beach, Fla.