FAU Receives $3.3M to Provide Scholarships in Electrical Engineering
From left: FAU President Adam Hasner; George Befeler, trustee of the Treto estate; Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science; and Blake Davis, vice president, Institutional Advancement
Florida Atlantic University has received a $3.3 million gift from the estate of Maria M. Treto to provide scholarships for students pursuing degrees in electrical engineering. The Pedro Treto and Harry M. Harris Scholarship is named in memory of Maria Treto’s husband and son.
Pedro and Maria Treto, both immigrants from Cuba, developed real estate in the Miami area. Their son, Harry M. Harris, studied electrical engineering at Florida Atlantic. He died as a young man due to an embolism.
“From the very beginning, she had in her heart to remember FAU,” said George Befeler, a lifelong friend and trustee of Maria Treto’s estate. “She said those were the best years of his life, the place where he learned how to work with discipline. I think somewhere up there Maria is smiling.”
The endowed scholarship will provide students with the kind of opportunity the Treto family experienced. It will cover the full cost of attendance, including tuition, books, fees and housing, for electrical engineering students with demonstrated financial need.
“We are honored to help preserve the memory of Maria Treto’s husband and son through the Pedro Treto and Harry M. Harris Scholarship,” said FAU President Adam Hasner. “Her generosity creates a lasting tribute to their lives while opening doors for future engineers, making a Florida Atlantic degree more affordable and setting students on a path to success.”
Florida Atlantic’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science is at the forefront of extraordinary advances shaping the era of artificial intelligence. From intelligent systems and robotics to cybersecurity, communications and data-driven technologies, these fields are transforming lives and addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The scholarship endowment will help more students in the college complete their education debt-free.
“This is a tremendous moment for our college,” said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “I am deeply grateful to Ms. Treto and honored to carry forward Harry’s legacy through the students whose lives will be impacted by this endowed scholarship for generations to come.”
-FAU-
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