The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, Inc.


A Philanthropic Family Foundation Founded in 1992 by William G. McGowan to promote, nurture, and fund promising programs primarily in:

  • Developing the Gifts and Talents of the Young
  • Health Care and Medical Science Research
  • Creating Educational Opportunities
Grant Deadlines
  • January 2
  • May 1
  • September 1
McGowan Scholar Deadline
  • September 15

William G. McGowan Center For Telecommunications, Innovation and Collaborative Research


The College of Applied Science and Technology (CAST) houses diverse yet synergistic areas of study. Our mixture of programs provides new opportunities to explore and expand the relationship between technology, service and educational outreach. CAST is committed to preparing our graduates to be innovative, technologically advanced and entrepreneurial. We tak pride in being RIT's first "green" building eligible for LEED certification and the building itself is a "living" laboratory available for demonstrations and experimentation into green technologies.
For example, recycled products are used wherever possible. A storm water collection system supplies water to flush the toilets in the building, and state of the art heating, cooling and lighting systems are installed in the building. A green "living wall" greets visitors at the main entrance. Nearby a plaque describing LEED certification will share space with a computer screen that shows and monitors essential building systems.
The desing of the CAST buildng implemented a wide range of sustainable strategies. These include creful management of the site in development, the preferred use of renewable or recyclable materials rather than virgin materials, improved design for energy & water efficiency, design and construction measures to improve indoor air quality, and other that - within the LEED system - are categorized as "Innovation in Design". This is a category for exemplary performance adn innovative design ideas that span beyond the defined LEED Rating System - and a category that RIT and CAST wholly embrace.

MCI Archives @ Hagley Museum and Library

Hagley Museum and Library collects, preserves, and interprets the unfolding history of American enterprise.

Located on 235 acres along the banks of the Brandywine River in Wilmington, Delaware, Hagley is the site of the gunpowder works founded by E. I. du Pont in 1802. This example of early American industry includes restored mills, a workers' community, and the ancestral home and gardens of the du Pont family.

Hagley's library furthers the study of business and technology in America. The collections include individuals' papers and companies' records ranging from eighteenth-century merchants to modern telecommunications and illustrate the impact of the business system on society.

The Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society organizes and administers the Hagley Museum and Library's interaction with the world of scholarship. It brings attention to Hagley's research collections and generates intellectual dialogue at Hagley.

Grantee Organizations Spotlight

Founded by the Jesuits in 1996, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is a neighborhood school with the mission of offering the best college preparatory education available to the youth of the Pilsen/Little Village community of Chicago, for whom other private schools are not a financial option. Cristo Rey is able to offer this type of education because of its most innovative component: the Corporate Internship Program (CIP). Through this work-study program, all students work five days a month in entry-level jobs in Chicago firms to fund 65% of the cost of their education. Currently, 106 corporations such as Chase, Deloitte & Touche, Madison Dearborn Partners, Loyola University Health Systems, and Mayer Brown Rowe and Maw, participate in the CIP. While initially serving as simply a financial proposition to pay the operational costs of the school, the CIP has evolved into a progressive means of providing students with valuable work experience, while simultaneously empowering them to take an active part in financing a major portion of their education. Now in its tenth year, Cristo Rey remains committed to serving families with limited financial means, who seek out a Jesuit, Catholic and college preparatory education to their children. The school opened its doors with only 79 students and now has grown to over 530. During its short existence, Cristo Rey has raised close to $30 million to build two new classroom buildings, a cafeteria, gymnasium and state of the art library/media center. It now boasts that every one of its students for the past four years has been accepted to at least one college. Today 82% of Cristo Rey graduates are currently attending or have completed college. Cristo Rey is increasingly receiving national recognition as a ground breaking model for urban education. In response to the success of Cristo Rey, the Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invested close to $30 million toward replicating this educational model around the United States. Currently, there are 12 high schools throughout the country that are associated through the Cristo Rey Network and operate using the educational model named for the first Cristo Rey School in Chicago. Seven more schools are slated to open by fall 2007.