Raytheon pledges financial support to Santa Barbara County engineering academy

FUTURE LEADERS: The Santa Barbara Foundation recently honored its 2010-2011 class of Katherine Harvey Fellows at a reception in Santa Barbara. The Katherine Harvey Fellows Program is an 18-month leadership development course that serves the community and local nonprofits by educating future community leaders about philanthropy, foundations, and nonprofit organizations. This year’s fellows include (front row, from left) Julie Sorenson; Dianne Duva; Maria Garcia-Cacique; Patricia Madrigal; Fahim Farag; and Victoria Juarez; and (back row, from left) Christopher Pizzinat; Austin Herlihy; Judy Taggart; Sabina Netto; Daniel Zia; Susan Salcido; Kaye Palomarez; and Jaime Valdez. Not pictured: Charles Osiris. Credit: PHOTO COURTESY THE SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION

An engineering academy in Goleta has received a donation of $175,000, payable over five years, from Raytheon Corporation, to help pay for the construction of a new engineering facility. Raytheon representatives presented an oversized check to Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy officials during a special ceremony on Feb. 15 at Dos Pueblos High School.

According to a press release from Raytheon, the company’s donation brings the total amount of money committed to the campaign to more than $2 million. The Dos Pueblos Energy Academy Foundation is trying to raise approximately $3 million to match a California state grant to finance construction of the facility. The foundation plans to recognize Raytheon for its support by naming the electrical engineering classroom the “Raytheon Electrical Engineering Laboratory.”

The school is designed specifically for high school students who are interested in pursuing a career in engineering and even has a competitive robotics team.

For more information about the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy, visit dpengineering.org.

This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 4, 2010.