IEOR Department Benefits from a New $1 Million Endowment to Support Graduate Students

IEOR alumni and friends have made 479 contributions to the IEOR Graduate Student Support Fund since it was established in 2009 by professor and alumna, Rhonda Righter, along with IEOR alumni, faculty and friends. Now UC Berkeley’s Department of Industrial Engineering & Operations Research will benefit from a new $1 million endowment to support its graduate students.

“We are very fortunate to have engaged and generous alumni who wish to see our students and the Department succeed,” says Professor Alper Atamturk, Department Chair. “It has been inspiring to see so many alumni joining the fundraising effort, along with our advisory board members, faculty, and staff.”

The Fund reached $500,000 in June, 2021 and was matched by the estate of Marjorie Jackson to establish a $1 million endowment that will pay each year to help graduate students have the support they need to make new discoveries, learn the latest tools and approaches, and teach the next generation of undergraduate students studying industrial engineering & operations research.

“On behalf of the Advisory Board, we are thrilled to establish this new opportunity that will support IEOR graduate students in perpetuity,” says Nancy Blachman, alumna and Chair, IEOR Advisory Board. “We’re pleased to provide these students with resources so that they can focus their attention on their studies and apply what they learn to make a positive impact on the world.”