Established in 2017 with a gift of $1,000,000 from Milton & Delia Zeutschel
The Milton & Delia Zeutschel Professorship in Entrepreneurial Excellence was established through a generous gift from UW EE alum Milton "Milt" Zeutschel (BSEE '60) and UW College of Education alum Delia Zeutschel (BA '58) to support EE's efforts in recruiting and retaining entrepreneurially-driven faculty, who will help build and sustain an engineering entrepreneurial ecosystem at the UW.
From a young age, Mr. Zeutschel recognized the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation while growing up on the prairie in North Dakota. He was the first member of his family to graduate from high school. He continued to push forward, being the first of his family to attend college. His UW EE education provided him with the technical skills to become an entrepreneur. The apt combination of education and personal discipline propelled Mr. Zeutschel to start from the ground up.
Over his career, he founded five companies, three of which – Zetec, Data I/O Corp. and Zetron, Inc. – met with resounding success. For Mr. Zeutschel, he is pleased that his success can give back to future generations of entrepreneurs.
A UW education is very important to both Delia and Milt Zeutschel. For Mr. Zeutschel, his time at UW EE shaped his career and offered him the skills to venture into uncharted territory as an entrepreneur. For Mrs. Zeutschel, her time studying at the UW College of Education laid the foundation for her work as a teacher.
Through this scholastic lens, the Zeutschels directed a significant portion of the endowment to support the Electrical Engineering Entrepreneurial Capstone Program (ENGINE), which enables current and future UW EE students to engage in real-world industry partnerships and gives local companies an opportunity to benefit from the vibrant innovation culture at UW EE. In the years since its inception, ENGINE has seen significant growth: over 40 percent of the graduating UW EE class participates in ENGINE.
Allen School holders of the Milton & Delia Zeutschel Professorship in Entrepreneurial Excellence
Joshua Smith, 2017-present