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Shaw Group Officials Present Check to UNC Charlotte Foundation

Submitted by: John Warner on Dec 02, 2007 at 1:55 pm Tagged with: Academia Source: UNC Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Nov. 28, 2007 – At a news conference to unveil plans to add more than 550 jobs in Charlotte, officials with the Shaw Group Inc. today presented a $50,000 check to the UNC Charlotte Foundation.

Describing it as an investment in education, the presentation was made by Jim Bernhard, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the Shaw Group, a Fortune 500 engineering company headquartered in Baton Rouge, La. It was accepted by David Dunn, UNC Charlotte’s vice chancellor for university relations and community affairs.

“This generous gift will significantly boost UNC Charlotte’s research capability in our new Energy Production Infrastructure Center (EPIC),” said Dunn. The university’s EPIC building received $19 million in state funds this year for planning and site development work.

The 200,000-square-foot EPIC building will house the departments of Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering. UNC Charlotte officials are seeking full funding for construction of the $76.2 million building in the 2009 session, with completion by the summer of 2011.

This morning, Shaw Group said it will add 556 new jobs in Charlotte as part of a $35 million expansion. North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has approved a $12.67 million state incentives grant over a 10-year period for the company, which already has about 950 workers in Charlotte.

Shaw provides design and engineering services for power plants around the world. It does significant business with Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp.

About UNC Charlotte
A public research university, UNC Charlotte is the fourth largest campus among the 17 institutions of the University of North Carolina system. It is the largest institution of higher education in the Charlotte region. The university offers 18 doctoral programs, 61 master’s degree programs and 89 programs leading to bachelor’s degrees. Fall 2007 enrollment exceeds 22,300 students, including almost 4,800 graduate students.