Dr. Maynard Raasch spent years traveling around the globe. As a world explorer, Raasch has visited 165 countries and colonies, Antarctica and the geographic and magnetic North Poles. Throughout his lifetime of travels, he has never forgotten the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, nor has he ever forgotten the $50 scholarships he received which helped him to complete his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1937.
Scholarships were not readily available when Raasch was a student, but the support he received made a tremendous difference to him, and he now feels it is important for him to make that same difference in the lives of current and future generations of School of Mines students. To accomplish this, Raasch recently established the Maynard Raasch Fund to support the new addition to the Chemical and Biological Engineering and Chemistry (CBEC) Building which is scheduled to begin construction in the spring of 2009.
Part of Raasch's gift will be used to help finish teaching/research laboratory modules in the CBEC Building. These labs will be a crucial component to continuing to provide state-of-the-art facilities, teaching and training in chemistry to students in all disciplines, not just those studying chemistry and chemical engineering. The fit-out involves all finishing, including everything from lights, flooring and shelving to fume hoods, ductwork and safety equipment. In recognition of Raasch's generosity, one of the new chemistry laboratories in the CBEC Building will be named the Maynard Raasch Laboratory.
The remainder of Raasch's contribution will be used to establish the Maynard Raasch Endowment fund which will support two different areas. Half of the endowment earnings will be used to provide maintenance support and updates to continually maintain and improve the quality of the Maynard Raasch Laboratory. The other half of the earnings will provide Maynard Raasch Scholarships which will be awarded to chemistry students at the School of Mines.
Raasch joins a growing list of others to be named at the Visionary level for the Building the Dream campaign, indicating a gift commitment of $500,000 or more.
