Giving with Passion

Cary and Norma Laxer

Rose-Hulman was Cary Laxer’s first stop out of graduate school, a stop that has lasted 33 years heading into the fall of 2013. He and his wife of 23 years, Norma, have had one central driving force throughout their lives: “We got the love of education from our parents,” says Cary. That’s a sentiment reinforced by Norma when the couple talks about having “a love and respect for education, and the passion to pass that on to future generations.”

The road that led Cary to Rose-Hulman was a straightforward one. His graduate school advisor was aware of his passion for education and his desire to teach. Fortunately for the newly minted PhD, this advisor was a friend and professional colleague of former Rose-Hulman President Dr. Samuel F. Hulbert, who was looking for talented faculty to make a difference in the private undergraduate engineering institution. Six days after Cary sent his resume and cover letter, he had a job offer.

Today Cary is head of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, has earned the institute’s Dean’s Outstanding Teacher Award, and has been a longtime advocate for global education. He has taken several groups of Rose-Hulman students to work on innovative international design projects at Uppsala University in Sweden and Bilkent University in Turkey. Additionally, Norma has a BS in Applied Mathematics and teaches at a local Catholic high school.

They realize the positive impact that a good education can have on students.

Cary and Norma have shown their support for Rose-Hulman with their financial contributions, qualifying them for membership in the Chauncey Rose Society. But why would they choose to make such a generous financial commitment to an institution where they have already spent so much of their time and talent? The couple’s answers invariably point to both the needs of students and ensuring the future of the school and community they have grown to love. While students still need financial aid to support their education, Norma points out that she and Cary “fully support the idea of the Rose-Hulman family. It’s not just a social network, it’s a worthwhile place to be.”

The remarkable support shown to Rose-Hulman does not end with the couple’s annual giving, as Cary and Norma have also committed to a deferred-giving plan to the institution. “This is another opportunity to both be a part of something special and to leave a legacy. We realize that the institute has huge needs, and it will take a lot of us to support those needs.”