Challenge Accepted
Supporters of Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering have donated $10 million to create 16 new endowments to financially support Ph.D. students.
The successful targeted giving challenge will transform the School’s ability to recruit and retain top graduate students. Funding for graduate students bolsters not only their individual academic journeys but also Georgia Tech’s reputation and the success of Institute’s research enterprise.
To encourage giving to support CEE’s graduate students, Jenny K. and Michael G. Messner, CE 1976, HON Ph.D. 2023, established a challenge fund and pledged to provide dollar-for-dollar matching gifts up to $5 million. CEE alumni and friends stepped up to complete the challenge.
“The impact of these endowments cannot be overstated,” said Don Webster, Karen and John Huff School Chair. “The funds facilitate recruiting and supporting the finest Ph.D. students in the world. I am incredibly grateful to the Messners and the numerous donors who have contributed to this transformational set of gifts.”
Why Prioritize PhD Funding?
Ph.D. students are essential to the success of top-tier research universities like Georgia Tech.
Their roles on campus are multifaceted. In addition to pursuing their doctoral degrees, they teach undergraduate students and conduct research with faculty. The discoveries and innovations that grow out of their research efforts influence the School’s reputation and influence. Top Ph.D. students attract top faculty members to Georgia Tech and vice-versa, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
Ph.D. students receive a stipend to cover their living expenses. Over time, CEE’s stipend offers have remained flat due to funding constraints— a problem when the cost of living has steadily increased, particularly in the heart of Atlanta. This has also posed a competitive problem for recruiting when other top universities are able to offer students higher stipends.
The Messner Challenge
Upon learning about the need to increase financial support for graduate students, Jenny and Michael Messner decided to help. They generously created a giving challenge to help the School quickly raise money for new Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) endowments.
They would provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds up to $5 million – allowing donors to double their money and have the right to name their endowment fund.
“Jenny and I are pleased to be able to assist the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech,” Michael Messner said. “CEE continues to rank among the top departments in the nation, and we should all strive to keep it there. That’s why we are supporting Ph.D. students, who are doing critical research in the field solving problems for the world. As CEE's mission statement notes: ‘People are our priority; the world is our responsibility.’ Ph.D. students are on the front line supporting that mission.”
Jenny and Michael Messner
Skylar Bernstein-Wombough
A total of 50 people answered the challenge, creating 16 new endowments. A fellowship endowment generates funding each year to provide support for graduate students in perpetuity. Of that number, five were created by individuals establishing their first endowment at Georgia Tech, a testament to the effectiveness of the challenge.
One of these is an endowment funded by multiple people in memory of Skylar Bernstein-Wombough, CE 24.
During her senior year, Bernstein-Wombough was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. She was determined to finish her degree, which she did in August 2024, graduating with high honors before she passed away just a few months later.
Professor Michael Hunter worked closely with Bernstein-Wombough as she completed her coursework. She shared that if given the opportunity, she would have pursued a graduate degree, with a vision of becoming a professor and educator.
“Skylar was the most dedicated student I have known during my time at Georgia Tech,” Hunter said. “She believed strongly in the personal growth that comes from knowledge, far beyond its role in preparing for a future career. Even while facing a life‑ending health crisis, she continued not only to find meaning in each day, but also to embrace each day with joy.”
So far, $778,150 has been raised in the Skylar Bernstein-Wombough Endowment from 36 people, including 15 first-time donors to Georgia Tech academics.
Graduate students in Professor Lauren Stewart's research group work in the Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory.
Philanthropy at Work
The money raised in the giving challenge is already being used to support Ph.D. students.
Professor Lauren Stewart, associate chair for graduate programs, said the new endowments are life-altering for graduate students. The School has been able to increase the average annual compensation package for graduate research assistants from $29,500 to $40,000.
“This means we are able to recruit the best talent to work on impactful research projects,” Stewart said. “It also provides a wage that compensates our graduate students for the vital work that they do, which is a critical part of the research enterprise of Georgia Tech.”
A Winning Formula
This is the second time that the Messners have used a fundraising challenge to match donations and create a quick and targeted impact for CEE.
In 2018, they launched the Messner Faculty Endowment Challenge to fund endowed faculty chairs and professorships within the School.
At the time, there were only eight endowed faculty chairs and professorships available to the School’s 55 tenured and tenure-track faculty. That means only 14% of the faculty had access to the career-building, program-enhancing benefits that come with endowed chairs and professorships.
In comparison, 25-50% of faculty in the nation’s other top-five CEE programs — Georgia Tech’s competition for top-tier faculty — hold endowed chairs or professorships.
Today, there are 24 endowed positions in CEE, plus two Institute-level positions held by CEE faculty members, meaning nearly half of tenured or tenure-track faculty now hold an endowed chair or professorship.
Webster said the flexibility of the income generated by the faculty endowments is highly attractive to faculty members and allows them to elevate the student experience in their labs and classrooms.
“We have strategically recruited and retained world-class faculty with these endowments, demonstrating another transformative impact that has been catalyzed by the Messner’s philanthropic vision and generosity,” Webster said.