“I wouldn’t be where I am today without UD. The education was rigorous — back-breaking, at times — but it gave me confidence,” said 1973 alumnus Bill Dreshfield, who, along with fellow 1973 alumnus Paul Schipper, helped spearhead the philanthropic efforts among his classmates. Of their 31 fellow graduates, 13 contributed to the class gift.

Schipper recalled the wisdom of the late Professor Fraser Russel, who often promoted the values of fortitude and foresight. 

“He would tell us that it’s a tough course, but if you get through this, you can do anything you want,” said Schipper, who enjoyed a 34-year career at ExxonMobil and now serves as an adjunct professor at UD. 

When he and his fellow alumni hear current students talk of grueling classes and encouraging faculty, they can’t help but smile. 

“This is true no matter when we graduated,” said 1973 alumnus Craig Matthiessen, who enjoyed reconnecting with classmates. “We worked together as a team. We hadn’t seen or talked to each other in 50 years, but we had good debates around how to support the department.”

In true engineering fashion, the alumni sought practical input on present-day needs. Department chair Millicent (Millie) Sullivan connected with undergraduate program director Josh Enszer and undergraduate program advisor Arkita Mays, who worked with Curello to survey students. A team of department staff and student helpers, led by laboratory manager Weihua Deng, completed the renovation project.

When the room opened last November, Sullivan viewed it as a fitting metaphor for the field of chemical engineering itself. 

“I’m inspired by the spirit of community, collaboration and creativity that I see here,” she said. “My favorite thing about this discipline is working together to solve problems.”