HOUSTON — Sam Houston State University (SHSU) has received a $25 million pledge from Pennsylvania-based Therm-Omega-Tech Inc. to support the university’s engineering technology components within the current industrial technology program and to establish a new engineering technology program. The founder of Therm-Omega-Tech Inc. is alumnus Frederick Pirkle, who graduated from SHSU with a bachelor of science degree in industrial arts in 1970 and a master’s degree in industrial technology in 1974.

The pledge is the largest gift in the university’s history.

“Sam Houston State University students who are getting a technical education are learning skills for life,” Pirkle said. “Those technical skills are critically important for America in today’s world. Americans are hard workers, and we’re smart workers. I want the students who are touched by this gift to be inspired to contribute to the success of this country and be leaders in the world.”