-= NMSU PANORAMA - Summer 2006 =- Giving Back: Foremans give $1.5 million to the College of Engineering

Giving Back

This department contains multiple stories. Please make a selection:
› Foremans give $1.5 million to the College of Engineering
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Foremans give $1.5 million to the College of Engineering

By Ann Palormo

Ed and Harold “Chub” Foreman. Courtesy Photo

Brothers Ed ’55 and Harold “Chub” Foreman ’61, who both earned bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering, have made a $1.5 million gift to the NMSU College of Engineering.

The donation establishes two professorships and one endowed chair in civil engineering. The gift also will be used to bolster recruitment and retention of students in the College of Engineering.

“This is the largest single gift from private individuals received to date by the College of Engineering and will help us recruit and retain world-class faculty, specifically in the field of civil engineering,” says Steven Castillo, dean of the College of Engineering. “It also serves as an outstanding endorsement of the engineering education provided here at NMSU.”

The Foreman brothers were born and raised on a peanut and sweet potato farm in Portales, N.M. In 1988, both were selected as part of the top 100 alumni from the NMSU College of Engineering.

“Although in the early days we didn’t have a lot of material things, we were indeed rich. Over the last few years, we’ve been able to accumulate a little money and we are pleased to contribute, in whatever way possible, to help people grow,” Chub said.

Harold Foreman’s career began in heavy construction and led to real estate brokerage and management. He is president and co-owner of Valley Leasing and Development Inc., a property management and asset holding company in Las Cruces. In 1984 he was elected to the New Mexico Senate, where he served for eight years.

While working as an oil field hand, Ed Foreman launched a highly successful petroleum-related business that made him a millionaire by age 26. He is the only person in the past 100 years to be elected to the U.S. Congress from two states – New Mexico and Texas. Today, Ed is one of the country’s top motivational speakers.

“Chub and Ed have been great supporters of the Civil Engineering Department for many years and both are members of the Civil Engineering Academy at NMSU. We are very pleased and honored that they have chosen to support our department and the college with this generous gift,” says Ken White, civil engineering department head.

Ed Foreman said he hoped this gift would inspire others.

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