SuSu and Mark Fischers' contribution of $12 million marks the largest contribution to date to the Engineering Education Complex (EEC).
“Mark and SuSu Fischer are generous and loyal Aggies whose passion and commitment to excellence are unmatched,” said Dr. M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean of engineering. “The Fischers are genuine in their gratitude toward this university and I cannot think of a more fitting way to similarly help our students; their generous gift literally provides the foundation for an educational home that will shape the Aggie engineer of the future.”
The Fischers decided to make this significant gift after learning more about the 25 by 25 initiative and the plans to build the EEC.
Banks first shared the idea of the 25 by 25 initiative with the Dwight Look College of Engineering’s advisory council in the fall of 2012. As a member of the council, Mark participated in further developing the idea.
“The 25 by 25 vision is something unheard of and clearly, something that will elevate Texas A&M to become the pinnacle engineering program in the nation,” Mark Fischer said. “So if I can help achieve that vision, I’m glad to do it.”
The Look College is a nationally ranked program with more than 13,000 students and nearly 350 tenured/tenure-track faculty. Together the EEC and 25 by 25 initiative will transform engineering education at Texas A&M and its success lies within the network of the many supporters of the engineering program.
“It’s really easy for me to want to support A&M because I have seen the impact Texas A&M has made on Mark’s career,” SuSu Fischer said. “If our support of A&M helps to make an impact on others, that makes me happy and it’s easy for us to do that.”
Dedicated to undergraduate engineering education only, the EEC will be built adjacent to the existing Zachry Engineering Center (ZEC), which will be renovated during the new construction project and when completed, the EEC and ZEC together will feature 600,000 square feet of state-of-the-art learning space. The complex will be an innovative learning environment, utilizing technology, flexible classrooms, design and fabrication shared-use laboratories, collaborative space and tutoring services. The EEC is a key component of the Dwight Look College of Engineering’s 25 by 25 initiative.
The 25 by 25 initiative addresses the projected state and national need for more engineers by increasing access to the Look College's program with a controlled growth plan to increase enrollment to 25,000 engineering students by 2025.
Mark earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in 1972 and is the president and chairman of the board of Chaparral Energy in Oklahoma City. The Fischers have been generous supporters of both academics and athletics at Texas A&M. They have two children, Scott and Christy Fischer Speakes ’04.