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Engineering the Future
Donor gifts power MTSU’s new Applied Engineering Building
by Brian Delaney
Philanthropy helped lay the foundation for the new Applied Engineering Building (AEB), which stands not only as a hub for innovation but also as a testament to the generosity and vision of devoted donors.
Two families, in particular, helped transform this high-tech dream into reality: the McDonalds and the Goulds. Their legacy is now shaping the next generation of engineering leaders.
For students like Max Brooks, a Mechatronics Engineering major, the donor support and corporate partnerships for the Engineering Technology Department make MTSU stand out.
“It’s wonderful that so many people are invested in making a better experience for our engineering student community,” Brooks said. “I originally came to MTSU because it had the mechatronics major I wanted—and I knew this new building would be completed during my time here.”
Brooks said he sees the impact of donors every time he walks through the new facility.
“Whether it’s the welcoming atrium provided by the McDonalds or the advanced laboratory provided by Dr. Gould’s family, I feel the same glimmers of energy I did as a freshman, where the department truly wants me to succeed,” he said.
A LIFETIME OF SERVICE, A LASTING LEGACY
From a Rutherford County farm in the Blackman community to MTSU and beyond, Donald McDonald has built his life on education and hard work. Now, he and his wife, Frances, are ensuring future generations of students can do the same.
Most recently, the couple made a major gift to the new AEB. Its central gathering space now bears their names: the Donald and Frances McDonald Atrium.
With his roots in the engineering program, Donald McDonald was drawn to the facility’s potential. He saw early renderings of the AEB while working with MTSU’s Development Office. The project inspired a way to create a lasting legacy while helping students succeed for generations to come.
The McDonalds, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2025, have a long history of giving back. In 2004, they created an endowed scholarship for students in Engineering Technology and Aerospace. Donald’s own story, as a “farm boy” with limited options to afford college, shaped that decision.
“We decided to help students like myself, that didn’t have a lot of funds to start with,” he said.
His deep affinity for MTSU also stems from the faculty who supported him during his formative years as a student.
“The best thing was the mentorship that the instructors gave,” he recalled. “All four years, they were mentors in each of their fields. I can name every one of them. And they tried to help you learn what you needed after you got out of school. And these guys were personable. They were really nice to me, and I’ll always remember that.”
Two mentors stood out. Harold Jewell, the superintendent of buildings and grounds, gave Donald a campus job as a craftsman drafting parking lots. And woodworking shop instructor Philip Dalton left an impression with his philosophical musings.
“[Dalton] would come back while I was working on my projects, and he’d want to talk international politics and this and that and the other. And I finally told him, I said, ‘Mr. Dalton, if you don’t let me work on this project, I’m not going get it finished,’ ” Donald recalled with a laugh.
That on-campus job, Donald said, helped him earn the money he needed to support his education.
Donald’s path to graduation wasn’t straightforward— he had to pause his education in the late 1950s due to finances. He made a strategic pivot to join the U.S. Navy’s flight school to pursue his interest in aviation, then returned to MTSU to complete his degree in 1963.
He went on to a long career at Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation, retiring as director of operations in 1999
Donald and Frances deepened their support of Aerospace with support to create the McDonald Aerospace Maintenance Laboratory in 2018. Donald also served on the MTSU Foundation board for six years, continues to serve on the Aerospace advisory board, and was celebrated in 2014 with the MTSU Alumni Association’s David Cullum Award for Service to the University.
Although Frances did not attend MTSU, she has always been a steady partner in their shared vision. “I’m just always supporting Don in these decisions,” she said. She also built her own career, working more than 30 years in accounting for engineering firms in Nashville.
“We felt for a lot of kids that we saw with potential,” Donald said. “With the right training, you could make a great career. And that’s what we decided would be the best type of [scholarship recipient].”
Today, the McDonalds’ generosity continues to open doors for students like Aidan Martin, a Mechatronics Engineering major and department scholarship recipient.
“The McDonalds’ philanthropy has helped me go through university without worrying about the money involved,” Martin said.
Based in the Smart Sensing and Robotics Lab, Martin helped design a six-wheeled autonomous robot for agriculture. “MTSU is going to be a superpower in middle Tennessee,” said Martin, who anticipates graduating in 2027. “This new frontier for AI and automation can now be accessed by the students here.”
A VISION FOR MECHATRONICS AND BEYOND
The Gould family’s support for MTSU Engineering Technology began with the creation in 2018 of the Dr. Richard Gould Mechatronics and Robotics Laboratory, now a second-floor showpiece of the new AEB.
Named in honor of the late Richard H. Gould, a U.S. Navy officer, General Electric engineer, and longtime chair of the University’s former Industrial Studies Department, the lab was made possible through the generosity and vision of his wife, Jean, who wanted to honor her husband’s legacy.
At the AEB ribbon-cutting ceremony, Gould’s sons, Jimmy and Jeff, were inspired to build on that legacy.
Energized by the new facility and its potential, they decided to make a substantial new gift from their family that will provide enduring support for the Mechatronics program as a whole. Support that ensures that students continue to benefit from the kind of opportunities their father envisioned.
“The lab by itself was impressive, but the building is fantastic,” Jimmy Gould said. “The lab is in a great home, and I hope a lot of students are able to take good engineering fundamentals and discover real and creative mechatronic applications.”
As department chair from 1979 to 1995, Richard Gould laid the groundwork for what would later become MTSU’s acclaimed Mechatronics Engineering program. He pushed the program “to expand its reach and embrace mechatronics before so many better-known institutions,” Jimmy Gould said. The legacy of those efforts lives on in the new laboratory today, thanks to the generous vision of the Gould family.
The Goulds’ connection to the University is deeply personal. As children, Jimmy and Jeff spent a lot of time in offices and classrooms where their father spent nearly three decades shaping the future of engineering education.
“It was my mother’s generosity and her belief in my father’s legacy that helped make the mechatronics lab a reality,” Jimmy said. “Jeff and I are proud of her for recognizing what our dad would have liked and the impact a seed investment could accomplish.”
At the 2018 dedication of the original lab space, Jean Gould remarked that when she learned mechatronics graduates can enter the workforce with knowledge and skills that benefit both themselves and the world around them, “I knew my husband would have wholeheartedly supported this project.”
“My dad would be very happy about MTSU’s continuing commitment to educating students with a successful career in mind,” Jeff said. “We don’t have that in every university in America today, so I applaud MTSU for that.”
A LAUNCHPAD FOR OPPORTUNITY
One such student is Manav Patel, a Mechatronics Engineering major originally from Kenya now on track to graduate early in December.
“Not many universities offered a program like this, and MTSU was one of the most affordable options for me,” Patel said.
This semester, Patel will dive into the newly enhanced Gould Mechatronics Lab for a course in programmable logic controllers (PLCs), the same equipment used in factories. Patel emphasized how much it means to students when alumni and supporters invest in facilities like the AEB.
“It makes us feel good. It shows that somebody out there has a lot of faith in the University,” Patel said. “When alumni come back and donate . . . it shows they’ve been able to use their degree to get to a spot in the world where they can give back to the University.”
During his time on campus, Patel has embraced every opportunity to learn, serving as a lab assistant and student ambassador for the department. He now helps give tours of the new AEB while also benefitting from scholarships that supported his studies. So too does Hannah Wolfram, a Mechanical Engineering Technology student and recipient of several scholarships.
“Scholarships are life-changing,” Wolfram said. “They’ve propelled me forward, helped me stay committed and focused on school, and made a huge difference for me.”
Now, as she continues her studies in the new building, Wolfram is especially grateful for the gifts that have expanded student access to cutting-edge technology.
“I’m incredibly grateful to be moving forward as the school grows,” she said. “I’m excited to see what we can do with the new resources compared to where we were last semester. This is a big step forward.”
The generosity of families like the McDonalds and the Goulds has created an impact that will serve students for decades to come. For many, that support is the deciding factor in whether they can pursue their college dreams.
Individuals interested in creating a legacy with the Engineering program, can learn more at et.mtsu.edu.
Contact Jared Bryson, development director for the MTSU College of Basic and Applied Science, at 615-898-5003 or jared.bryson@mtsu.edu.
