Alumnus makes $1.3-million gift to help engineering students in honour of his father

Alumnus Robert Wichert has many connections to the University of Calgary. The 1983 chemical engineer graduate’s father was an adjunct professor his younger brother Now, this Texas engineer has given a personal gift of nearly $1.3 million to benefit engineering students. This is one of the largest donations in the history of the Schulich School of Engineering.

Ever since Robert Wichert was four years old, he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father Edward, a petroleum engineer and former adjunct professor at the University of Calgary. They would travel together to remote drilling sites where Robert’s wide-eyed fascination as a young boy grew into an appreciation of the technical processes at work. This led to a chemical engineering degree from the University of Calgary in 1983 and a successful career in the oil business.

Robert Wichert wanted to recognize the hard work and influence of his father, so he made his gift to the University of Calgary in Edward Wichert’s name.  “I was looking for a way to give back to the community in a meaningful way that honours my roots and shows my appreciation for an institution that has benefitted our family,” says Robert Wichert, a University of Calgary graduate who has lived and worked in Houston for 20 years.

Robert Wichert’s younger brothers, Martin and Gordon, also studied engineering at the University of Calgary and currently work for major energy companies in Calgary. Their father, Edward Wichert, continues to live and work in Calgary.

The donation establishes the Edward Wichert Graduate Scholarship, an annual $20,000 award for a graduate student in chemical, petroleum or energy and environmental engineering. Students will receive the first of the Wichert scholarships in September 2009.

Another six students per year will receive Edward Wichert Undergraduate Scholarships, worth up to $5,000 each, to support their studies in chemical or oil and gas engineering.

The Wichert gift also provides capital support for the renovation of the homeroom for third-year students in oil and gas engineering.

Robert Wichert believes an economic downturn is often the best time to give. “When the economy is in a downturn, it’s a good time to be in school. This is when it seems to make the most sense to give, and many students need the financial help. There’s a bigger need now than there was two years ago.”
Edward Wichert says it is an honour to have the awards named after him. “I always stressed to my sons the importance of a university education. Hopefully, these scholarships will help identify some bright students who are short on money and the awards will help them out.”

The Wicherts say they hope the students who receive the scholarships work hard, strive to be their best and, one day, consider giving back to the community as Robert Wichert has done.