News Release
ServiceNow supports student scholarships, computer science at UC San Diego with $1.25M gift
November 30, 2021--Software company ServiceNow, which was founded in San Diego in 2004, is now investing in the local computer science and engineering talent ecosystem through a $1.25 million gift to the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. With Chancellor's Scholarship matching funds, the total impact of the gift is $1.75 million.
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| Jacobs School of Engineering students participate in the IDEA Center's Summer Engineering Institute. ServiceNow Scholars will be encouraged to particiapte in IDEA Center programming. |
ServiceNow is a Fortune500 company which develops cloud computing platforms to help companies manage digital workflows for enterprise operations. Hundreds of students from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering have played a role in its success as employees and interns, both here in San Diego where the company was founded, and at the current headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area.
To further advance educational opportunities for computer science students at the Jacobs School of Engineering, ServiceNow has donated $1 million to create an endowed ServiceNow Scholarship. In addition, ServiceNow has donated $250,000 to support the broader programmatic expansion of the Jacobs School of Engineering, which will be recognized through the naming of the ServiceNow Terrace in Franklin Antonio Hall.
“The fact that we go back to UC San Diego year after year is a testament to the value that the UC San Diego students and graduates bring to our company,” said Magaly Drant, Vice President of Developer Productivity at ServiceNow. “We find in those students the right combination between a solid understanding of the fundamentals and an appetite for discovery and challenge that thrives in our complex, fast-paced and ever evolving environment. We are excited to contribute to making access to this education a reality for even more talented students.”
The new ServiceNow Scholarship is part of a larger effort within the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering to strengthen financial support for students. Many engineering and computer science students at UC San Diego and around the country face a combination of challenges inside and outside the classroom that make completing STEM degrees particularly challenging.
"It's critical that we ensure all our students have the resources they need to thrive at the Jacobs School of Engineering. As a society, we need our technical workforce to reflect the diversity of our city, region, state and country. To do that, we need to increase support for students. I'm thrilled that ServiceNow has stepped up to strengthen our ability to provide the support our students need," said Albert P. Pisano, Dean of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.
Comprehensive support for Jacobs School students
Dean Pisano launched the Jacobs School of Engineering Dean’s Scholars of Excellence scholarship program to encourage and inspire the larger community to step up and work together to advance equal access to a Jacobs School education. This includes creating new scholarships to support students with outstanding academic merit, including students who have made or show potential to contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion; first generation; and low-income students. The new ServiceNow Scholarship is the newest part of this Jacobs School of Engineering Dean’s Scholars of Excellence effort.
The students who receive these scholarships are encouraged to get involved with the IDEA Engineering Student Center here at the Jacobs School. The IDEA Engineering Student Center, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, runs a wide range of programming designed to support engineering and computer science students as they work toward their degree, through summer prep and mentorship programs, peer-led engineering learning communities, support for student diversity organizations, and more.
"I can't overestimate the value and impact of scholarships in engineering and computer science. We have so many stellar students who are burning the candle at both ends. Scholarships that give students a little more leeway to join an engineering team project or get involved in research can truly be career- and life- changing," said Darren Lipomi, a nanoengineering professor and faculty director of the IDEA Engineering Student Center.
This ServiceNow scholarship gift is being amplified by a $500,000 match through the Chancellor’s Scholarship and Fellowship Challenge, with a $1 match for every $2 given. This means a combined $1.5 million toward scholarships for undergraduate computer science students. The first cohort of ServiceNow Scholars is expected to be announced in fall quarter of the 2022 academic year.
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| The ServiceNow Terrace in Franklin Antonio Hall will facilitate relationships between industry partners and academic researchers. |
ServiceNow Terrace in Franklin Antonio Hall
In recognition of their $250,000 gift toward the programmatic expansion of engineering and computer science on campus, the fourth floor terrace in the new Franklin Antonio Hall will be named the ServiceNow Terrace.
Franklin Antonio Hall opens in spring 2022. It has been designed from the ground up to facilitate cross-discipline and university-industry collaborations that are critical for solving the toughest health, energy, autonomy, security, communications, and materials challenges facing society.
“I can’t stress enough how crucial our ties to industry are, not only in ensuring we’re working on solving relevant research challenges, but also in helping prepare our students to meet the technological demands of the workplace of the future,” said Albert P. Pisano, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering. “I’m grateful to the team at ServiceNow for also recognizing the value of these relationships, and supporting the Jacobs School of Engineering and our students in our mission to leverage engineering and computer science for the public good.”
The 186,000-square-foot building will house a wide range of multidisciplinary research “collaboratories,” as well as spaces to facilitate interactions between faculty, students and industry partners.
“Technology is evolving faster than ever, and if we don’t build strong ties between industry and academia, we cannot hope to train tomorrow’s workforce to the skills and technologies that will matter in the future,” said Drant. “As for how to build such ties, there is nothing more powerful than in-person sharing, which spaces such as this ServiceNow Terrace make possible.”
The ServiceNow gift contributes to the Campaign for UC San Diego—a university-wide comprehensive fundraising effort concluding June 30, 2022. Together with philanthropic partners, UC San Diego will continue its nontraditional path toward revolutionary ideas, unexpected answers, lifesaving discoveries and planet-changing impact. To learn more, visit the Campaign for UC San Diego website.
Media Contacts
Katherine Connor
Jacobs School of Engineering
858-534-8374
khconnor@ucsd.edu