BEN FRANKLIN
A SCHOLARSHIP FOR WORKING STUDENTS
W
Ben and Helen Franklin (above). Franklin (ME ’54) says that two of the
advantages of his U.Va. education were the communication and leadership
skills he learned from former humanities professor Joe Vaughan.
VISIT US
ONLINE:
hen it came to working his way through college, Ben Franklin
(ME ’54) was nothing if not resourceful. At the end of his
first year, just short of his 18th birthday, he learned about a potential
job in Venezuela. He borrowed $500 for the flight. Using skills he
had gained in his first-year civil engineering class, he helped an oil
refinery construction company determine that it had substantially
overpaid a contractor. Back at U.Va., he had paid positions in
laboratories, helping biochemists develop an antidote to nerve gas
and civil engineers analyze the initial bond stress of prestressed
concrete. He also worked at the University’s steam plant, tracking the
thermal efficiency of its boilers.
His understanding of the trade-offs entailed in balancing
academics and work is one reason he established a need-based
scholarship for students admitted to the Engineering School. The
recipients of the Benjamin and Helen Caine Franklin Scholarship will
be students who may have worked in high school and whose grades
may not indicate their full potential. “I want these young people to
have the advantages of a U.Va. education that I enjoyed,” Ben says.
Among those advantages, in Franklin’s estimation, are the
emphasis on communication and leadership skills he learned from
humanities professor Joseph Vaughan and the ethics enshrined
in the University’s Honor System. These experiences — and the
knowledge of mechanical engineering that Franklin learned here —
served him well during a career devoted to directing the marketing,
design, quality assurance, manufacturing, installation and testing of
safety systems for nuclear power plants in the U.S. as well as around
the world. One project he is particularly proud of is the emergency
reactor cooling system for Three Mile Island, which helped prevent a
complete meltdown.
The Franklin Scholarship is the culmination of Ben’s lifelong
allegiance to the University. “I love the University, its Honor System
and its architecture,” says Ben, who has attended several Summeron-the-Lawn Programs with his wife, Helen. “It’s given me so much. I
just wanted to give something back.”
View the names of thousands of alumni and friends whose financial support is engineering a better school.
See more stories, videos and other media highlighting the work of our faculty and students. www.uvef.seas.virginia.edu/print
THORNTON
SOCIETY
“If we did all the things
we are capable of,
we would literally
astound ourselves.”
— Thomas Edison
Achieving the vision of U.Va.
Engineering occurs at the
interface of opportunity and
generosity. Donors attuned to the
strategic vision for the School
help the dean seize opportunities
for substantive change through
their financial support. This year
U.Va. Engineering had almost 600
donors making a contribution of
$2,500 or more, qualifying them
for the basic Thornton Society
membership, and solidifying U.Va.
Engineering’s position among the
world’s elite research universities.
If you are a U.Va. alum, you have
been trained to be a leader in
solving world-class problems.
We invite you to do all you are
capable of to set up your school for
success that astounds the world!
11