Generally speaking, it is rare for people to become major donors to the universities where they earned graduate degrees. But don't tell that to David I.J. Wang, MS ME 1953.

David and his wife, Cecile, have established a flexible faculty endowment in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE). When realized, the fund will be used by the school chair to deploy according to current needs — whether a faculty chair, two professorships, or three early-career professorships. It was one of the gifts and commitments that propelled the Institute past one of its most significant Campaign goals of funding more than 100 endowed chairs and professorships.

The Cecile L. and David I.J. Wang Faculty Endowment Fund will have a profound impact on the School and its ability to recruit, retain, and develop eminent teacher-scholars in the field for generations to come.

“The men and women on our faculty are changing the world through their research and teaching,” said David S. Sholl, school chair, Michael E. Tennenbaum Chair, and GRA Eminent Scholar for Energy Sustainability. “David's generous gift will play a key role in enabling the School to one day recruit and retain world-class individuals who will continue our tradition of industry-relevant innovation.”

“Those of us fortunate enough to receive higher education, whether through scholarships or private funds, owe a debt to that institution for its enduring impact upon our entire adult lives,”

Wang said. “The challenges and opportunities facing the engineering profession in 2016 are dramatically different from when I attended Georgia Tech a half-century ago, but Tech has continued to evolve, and remains at the forefront as a premier technology problem solver. My modest commitments are a vote of confidence in Tech’s role in that future.”

David Wang was born in Beijing, China, and emigrated to the U.S. with his family after World War II. He earned a master’s in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and went on to an illustrious, decades-long career in the chemical and paper industries, during which he served many years on the advisory board of what was then the School of Chemical Engineering. Wang retired in 1991 as executive vice president and director of International Paper Co. and joined the private equity investment firm Atlas Holdings in 2000 as senior operating partner until 2010.

Over the years, he and Cecile have provided invaluable philanthropic support to ChBE as well as the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and Alumni Roll Call.