Alumnus establishes faculty fellows program with $1.75 million gift

McDaniel College has received a $1.75 million gift from Charles A. Boehlke, Jr., a 1978 alumnus of the College and current member of the McDaniel Board of Trustees, to establish the Charles A. Boehlke, Jr., Engaged Faculty Fellows program.

The fellowships will be given annually to up to five McDaniel faculty members who provide strong mentorship and experiential learning opportunities to students, especially within the areas of independent student research, community-supported learning, internship support and study-away experiences.

“The Charles A. Boehlke, Jr., Engaged Faculty Fellow awards celebrate the many ways our faculty support students outside the classroom,” said McDaniel Provost Julia Jasken. “Strong mentorship and quality experiential learning opportunities are two hallmarks of a McDaniel College education. We are grateful for this gift that gives us the opportunity to honor some of our most engaged faculty.”

McDaniel faculty who are named Engaged Fellows each receive a stipend of $5,000 per year or a course release, plus up to an additional $2,000 per year for professional development or other engagement-related work. Engaged Fellows will be named for a two-year period and are not eligible to reapply for a five-year period.

Faculty members can be nominated by colleagues or students, as well as self-nominate. Nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee composed of McDaniel President Roger N. Casey, Provost Julia Jasken and select faculty members.

Boehlke of Hunt Valley, Md., is a retired executive vice president and chief financial officer of MSC Industrial Direct, a publicly traded distributor of industrial supplies headquartered in Melville, N.Y., where he served on the company’s board of directors until his retirement in 2011. He previously spent 17 years at Black & Decker in various positions, including chief financial officer for Black & Decker Mexico. He has often served as a guest lecturer in business classes at McDaniel.

He earned his M.B.A. from the University of Miami in 1980 and was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society in 1979.