MEMPHIS, TN – Logical Systems (LSI), an international engineering firm, based in Memphis, and Christian Brothers University are pleased to announce an agreement through which LSI will fund up to two scholarships per year for selected CBU engineering students. The targeted recipients are gifted minority students from the Memphis area who otherwise would not have the economic ability to attend CBU’s engineering program. The students selected to receive these scholarships will be mentored by LSI engineers throughout their education experience to ensure the support, encouragement, and successful completion of their degree.
LSI recently participated in a signing ceremony at CBU with Dr. John Smarrelli Jr., President of CBU, and Dr. Siripong Malarsri, the Dean of the School of Engineering. Dan Miller, a 1984 graduate of CBU’s engineering program and LSI’s Chief Operations Officer, along with a number of LSI’s engineers who will be responsible for the mentoring and scholarship program, were welcomed by the university and toured the engineering facilities at CBU. LSI is excited about the opportunity to make this investment in the future of the lives of deserving and motivated individuals, making a difference that will impact the community in a positive and -lasting way.
Several of LSI’s administrators and engineers are graduates of CBU, and this scholarship was born from LSI’s desire to make a difference in the Memphis community and to give back to CBU. “While the funding is an important aspect—providing needed economic relief—it is the mentoring of the selected individuals where we expect we can make the biggest difference,” says Miller. “Dr. Martin Luther King once wrote that ‘intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.’ He wrote this to challenge the prevailing mindset of what true education really requires, information and knowledge yes, but without the support character building, we have fallen short of providing an individual with an ideal educational experience to position them for making the “Dream” come true. Through this scholarship, CBU will be able to provide the intelligence. Through mentoring, LSI expects to be able to help develop character in a young minority man or woman that may not have had the same opportunities as a others. Ideally, at the end of the journey, there is one more high-character individual that is willing and in an economic position to also make a difference in the community, hopefully creating a web that continues to spread.”
As a non-research institution, the majority of CBU’s classes are taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty who are focused on giving students individualized attention and excellent mentoring on a daily basis. The additional mentoring, in real-world setting, that this scholarship provides will expand CBU’s ability to matriculate highly qualified and highly prepared engineers.