The University of New Orleans has received a state match in the amount of $40,000 to help establish the Riley Parker Endowed Professorship in Engineering. The state funds come from the Louisiana Educational Quality Support Fund. UNO graduate Riley Parker and his employer, Shell Exploration & Production, provided the initial donation of $60,000.
Parker, a native of Luling, earned both his bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s in engineering management from UNO.
The Riley Parker Endowed Professorship will reward a high performing current faculty member or allow for the recruitment of a highly qualified new faculty member in the electrical engineering department. Preference for the professorship will be given to candidates with expertise in the area of control systems or, more generally, in the area of signals and systems.
Parker took advantage of the Shell Oil Company Foundation Educational Matching Gifts Program, which provides matching funds for gifts to eligible high schools and institutions of higher education.