University of Mount Union receives gift to establish Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and endowment for student scholarships

The University of Mount Union has received a significant gift from the charitable trust of two alumni, Flint and Meg Brenton. The gift will establish a new Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence on campus, create an endowment for scholarships for outstanding students, and will help develop new engineering majors that will align with growing job markets. Additionally, the university will rename its School of Engineering to the Samuel W. and Dolores E. Brenton School of Engineering in honor of the legacy of Flint’s parents.

According to an article on the University of Mount Union’s website, Flint Brenton said of his and his wife’s contribution to the school, "We are excited to invest in the future of Mount Union. With this gift, all students will benefit. New curricula and majors will allow our engineering graduates to be placed in new, fast-growing fields. Mount's liberal arts majors will benefit by learning to apply AI, data science and automation as students and again in their chosen professions. We hope that Mount students develop best-in-class digital competencies and then apply them in their careers.”

Thanks to the transformative gift from the Brentons, the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence is being established at the University of Mount Union shortly after the school launched two new related minors: artificial intelligence and applied artificial intelligence. 

Part of the gift from the Brentons includes the endowment of an award that will be given annually to outstanding students, of any discipline, that are utilizing artificial intelligence, data science, and automation in new and interesting ways. 

In renaming the School of Engineering to the Samuel W. and Dolores E. Brenton School of Engineering, an endowed fund is also being set up to continue the growth of engineering programs at the University of Mount Union. New majors will be developed that will correlate to growing, in-demand jobs.

Meg Brenton said, "It is a privilege to honor Flint's parents in this manner, to be able to help Mount Union position itself as a leader in AI — especially to encourage non-tech majors to utilize it in their chosen field of study.”

Since graduating from the University of Mount Union themselves in 1977 and 1978 respectively, Flint and Meg Brenton have continued to have a tremendous impact on the university, even before this most recent gift. Throughout the years, the couple has established The Meg Gerlach Brenton Endowed Scholarship for students in life sciences majors, and The Meg Gerlach Brenton Physical Therapy Teaching Lab was named to honor Meg’s career as a well respected physical therapist. Flint has been a member of the Mount Union's Board of Trustees since 2018.

Greg King, the president of the University of Mount Union, shared his gratitude for the couple’s continued support of the school. He said, "The University of Mount Union is profoundly grateful to Flint and Meg for their visionary generosity. Their gift will honor the legacy of Samuel and Dolores Brenton and significantly advance our School of Engineering while fostering cutting-edge research and education in data science and artificial intelligence."

The Samuel W. and Dolores E. Brenton School of Engineering will be officially dedicated on October 11.

For more information about the University of Mount Union, visit the school’s website.