Telecom company founder pledges $500,000 for engineering at KU

Editor's note: The School of Engineering will celebrate the start of construction Thursday, March 7. For more information, contact Jill Hummels, School of Engineering, (785) 864-2934.

LAWRENCE -- The president and co-founder of a Silicon Valley telecommunications company has pledged $500,000 for an expansion of the School of Engineering building, University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway announced today.

Paul Chang made the pledge to the Kansas University Endowment Association to support the $15 million expansion of the school's existing complex at the corner of 15th Street and Naismith Drive. Chang, M.S. engineering '85, is CEO, president and chairman of Sunrise Telecom Inc. in San Jose, Calif.

Chang's gift counts toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history.

"Paul Chang's gift will help us build a premier learning community at KU," Hemenway said. "The new addition will enhance the environment in which students learn and faculty members teach and conduct cutting-edge research."

To be completed in June 2003, the expansion will add almost 50,000 square feet of useable space and bring the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science into the engineering complex. It will also provide space for a large lecture hall, several instructional and computer laboratories, the Engineering Careers Services Center and the school's administrative offices.

Engineering Dean Carl E. Locke Jr. thanked Chang for his support of the expansion.

"Paul Chang's success as an engineer and entrepreneur is an inspiration to our students," said Locke. "His wonderful gift will help the school prepare future engineers to compete successfully in a marketplace that demands the best in education and technical skills. We are very grateful for his generosity and commitment to the school."

Chang, who holds a bachelor's degree in physics from Tunghai University in his native Taiwan, said the gift is an expression of his appreciation for his KU education.

In 1991, Chang co-founded Sunrise Telecom to make portable telecommunications service-verification equipment faster, simpler, more powerful and affordable. The company, which makes equipment for such companies as Sprint, Verizon Wireless and SBC Communications, became publicly traded in July 2000 and is listed on the NASDAQ exchange.

KU Endowment is conducting KU First on behalf of KU through 2004 to raise funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support. KU Endowment is an independent, non-profit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for KU.