News Article

Mark Pigott, Chairman and CEO of PACCAR, and Rev. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., President of Gonzaga University at the 2007 groundbreaking for the PACCAR Center for Applied Science on GU's campus.

Gonzaga launched a new initiative this month to raise $20 million for endowed professorships in a number of departments in the University. Gonzaga’s president, Rev. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., said, “Gonzaga is completing an ambitious facility development program that has resulted in $133 million of new classrooms, laboratories and research centers being constructed on the campus. This new Professorship initiative is the next step in our vision to transform the University into the premier private liberal arts college for the region. We are very pleased that the Pigott family has generously made the first donation to the program by endowing a professorship in Entrepreneurship.” Rev. Spitzer added, “This is Gonzaga’s first endowed professorship in ten years and will be the cornerstone in a comprehensive framework of professorships that will reinforce our outstanding curriculum for the benefit of our students in the future.”

The Mark Pigott family announced that it is gifting $1.5 million to Gonzaga University to establish the Pigott Professor in Entrepreneurship. Rev. Spitzer acknowledged the importance of the endowed professorship by noting, “This incredibly generous lead gift from the Pigott family is the first in an effort to endow new teaching positions in a number of areas including Sustainable Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, the Humanities and Communication Arts.” Rev. Spitzer said. “Endowing key professorships will ensure that our students will be taught by the very highest quality faculty, now and in perpetuity.”

Rev. Spitzer commented, “The Pigott family and PACCAR have been wonderful advocates of education for over 100 years. Their name is associated with some of the nation’s leading universities, colleges and secondary schools due to their generous funding of professorships and capital projects.” Rev. Spitzer continued, “PACCAR has been supporting Gonzaga since 1960, through gifts that have modernized and expanded our library, engineering, arts and sciences facilities. Currently, the PACCAR Center for Applied Science is being constructed on campus. The 30,000 square-foot facility will be the center of the University’s research and development in applied engineering.” Rev. Spitzer added, “Mark is the fourth generation to lead PACCAR and has established himself as a successful international businessman and philanthropist. He is a visionary individual who recognizes the importance of a comprehensive educational program in order to develop the next generation of global leaders. We believe that this gift will energize others to join in our strategic plan to create endowed professorships at Gonzaga.”

The Pigott Professor will teach both graduate and undergraduate students. Mark Pigott, a distinguished and lifelong supporter of education, shared, “Endowed professorships are critical to attracting and retaining the best faculty, and my family is pleased to contribute towards Father Spitzer’s vision of transforming Gonzaga into a world-class university. This professorship will enable Gonzaga to offer business courses in start-up ventures and family-owned enterprises. They will also be able to add undergraduate courses to serve more students from disciplines including business, engineering, and the arts and sciences.” The endowment being created with the Pigott family gift also will be used to support an annual conference on current issues in entrepreneurship.

Pigott affirmed his commitment to supporting education. “Education is the foundation of a successful society. Our pledge is to invest in institutions around the world that believe people learn by doing, by touching, by seeing how something will work in their environment. WB Yeats said ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’ That sentiment captures the initiative that Gonzaga is addressing by investing in world-class professors. Creating this professorship will ensure that the excellent tradition of teaching and learning will continue at Gonzaga.”

PACCAR Inc is a Fortune 150 global technology company headquartered in Bellevue, Wash. It is a leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of high quality light, medium, and heavy-duty commercial vehicles under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF nameplates. PACCAR shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, symbol PCAR, and its homepage is www.paccar.com.

For more information on Gonzaga University and the Pigott Professor in Entrepreneurship, please contact Joe Poss, Director of Development at 509.323.6106. www.gonzaga.edu.