Michael “Mike” Venutolo ’77 and his wife, Kim, vividly remember sharing an eight-hour bus ride through the 110-degree desert in the United Arab Emirates with a half dozen engineering students from Syracuse University. Mike had helped design a novel two-week internship experience to expose the students to issues involved in producing and transporting potable water hundreds of miles across the desert. It was the kind of experiential learning that the Venutolos have supported through their philanthropy. The kind that directly and rapidly transforms the student experience.
His appreciation for international experiences and experiential learning is reflected in Venutolo’s most recent philanthropy, pledging nearly $1 million to create or support:
- Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Fund for Experiential Learning to support students studying abroad and the London Center program with particular focus on community and cultural engagement through program-sponsored travel,
- Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Fund for Professional Development to augment the activities of ECS clubs and societies specifically oriented to building professional skills, networking and education through their activities, including student travel to conferences,
- Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Undergraduate Endowment Scholarship to provide scholarship and financial assistance to deserving ECS undergraduates,
- Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Fund for Remembrance and Lockerbie Exchange to support trips to Lockerbie, the Lockerbie Academy and other remembrance related activities and
- Invention Accelerator Fund, which supports undergraduates as they design, prototype and pitch their inventions.