Giving Back

Successful Alumni Present Gifts To Support Future Engineers

BY EMILY BATTLE

UT TYLER GRADUATES Mike Clendenin ’99 and Lance Hibbeler ’06 have at least two things in common. While both have gone far in their careers as mechanical engineers, they also maintain close connections to their alma mater.

Both alums recently presented gifts to the university to support the success of current and future students pursuing engineering degrees.

Clendenin leads Tyler-based EMA Engineering and Consulting as president and CEO and was instrumental in the company gifting $100,000 to create an endowment supporting special projects of the College of Engineering. The donation also will name the Ratliff Engineering Building South’s fourth floor terrace the EMA Engineering and Consulting Terrace.

Hibbeler, an engineer at Intel Corp. in Portland, Oregon, gifted $150,000 to support Department of Mechanical Engineering programs and name the Lance C. Hibbeler Materials Testing Laboratory.

“Mike and Lance are prime examples of alumni who have gone on to become very successful in their careers while also passionately supporting the college and the success of future engineers,’’ says Dr.

Javier Kypuros, College of Engineering dean. “These generous gifts will impact student learning and career readiness for many years to come.’’

Investing in Career Readiness

The new EMA Engineering and Consulting Dean’s Legacy Projects Endowment will support College of Engineering infrastructure and facility needs, which are often designed by students. Legacy projects enable the college to make critical enhancements to its facilities while engaging students in firsthand experiences for career readiness.

“This was a gift to the College of Engineering, but it was also an investment in the future of our company,’’ Clendenin says, noting that the mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering firm employs more than 30 UT Tyler graduates as well as student interns. “If not for the UT Tyler College of Engineering, EMA would not be where we are today,’’ he says. “I see it as the life blood of our future, so we’re very excited to lend our support.’’

Clendenin grew up in Tyler, graduated from high school in Tyler Independent

School District and then attended Tyler Junior College. He enrolled at UT Tyler when the university began offering engineering degrees.

“I was always aware of the university but always thought I would pursue engineering, so UT Tyler wasn’t an option until 1997,’’ he says. “At the time, I was working as an intern for EMA and taking classes at TJC with plans to most likely go to Texas A&M. When UT Tyler announced there would be an engineering program starting, I decided to stay in Tyler and work for EMA part-time through college. The timing could not have been better for me.’’

One the first graduates of the mechanical engineering program, Clendenin has served on the Department of Mechanical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board and the college’s Advisory Council. He was honored as a UT Tyler College of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus in 2020.

Support for Laboratory Studies

Hibbeler’s gift to the university will provide enhancements to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and what is now the Hibbeler Materials Testing Laboratory. The facility is used by students in laboratory classes, including Materials Science, Introduction to Manufacturing and Engineering Design.

“I hope that the funds will be used to make the lab better and cause future students to share my love of the subject matter,’’ Hibbeler says. “The entire human race comes out ahead when we have more passionate engineers working to solve the world’s problems.’’

At Intel, Hibbeler uses computational process modeling to help design, develop and debug the chip-making process. He has received substantial recognition at the departmental, divisional and business unit levels for his work, and credits the university for his success.

“I was able to get admitted and graduate from one of the top engineering schools in the world for my graduate studies and then find employment at a tech company, all with the educational foundation I received at UT Tyler,’’ he says.

After graduating summa cum laude from UT Tyler, Hibbeler attended the University of Illinois, earning master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and theoretical and applied mechanics, and a doctorate in mechanical engineering.

His involvement as a UT Tyler alum includes speaking to students at the university’s Career Success Conference.