Gougeon funds Winona composites scholarship

A new scholarship benefiting Winona State University (Winona, MN, US) students majoring in Composites Materials Engineering has been endowed by the Gougeon Employees Foundation (Bay City, MI, US). The scholarship is a tribute to Winona graduate and Gougeon technical advisor Michael A. Barnard, who passed away unexpectedly on July 28, 2017. The composites industry lost a promising young engineer who would have continued developing the use of advanced materials.

The Michael A. Barnard Memorial Scholarship was established as an endowed fund in the Winona State University Foundation. The scholarship emphasizes community involvement and leadership rather than grade point average. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in Composite Materials Engineering at Winona State. They will submit essays addressing how they chose Composite Materials Engineering, their career goals, community involvement, and leadership experience. The essay must also detail how winning the scholarship would make a difference for them. Each year, the WSU Foundation administration will forward the top three student applications for the Gougeon Employees Foundation to review and select the winner. WSU students may submit applications for the scholarship beginning in December 2017. The first winner will be announced in May 2018.

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Barnard was proud of his alma mater as well as his home state. A native of St. Michael, Minnesota, he was a 2011 graduate of WSU’s Composite Materials Engineering program. After he graduated, Gougeon Brothers, Inc., manufacturer of trademarked WEST SYSTEM and Pro-Set Inc. Epoxies, recruited him to work in their Technical Services department in Bay City. While employed at GBI, Barnard conducted testing specific to the US Navy’s need to repair aluminum deck plates, tested laminates for aircraft certification and unique applications for submersibles, and much more. He performed work that advanced the use of composites although he was not yet 30 years old. Barnard had a positive attitude and enjoyed helping others.

The Gougeon Employee Foundation endowed the scholarship in his name in order to support students who can continue his legacy advancing the use of composite materials. The scholarship was established with a gift of $30,000. The first $5,000 is designated to the temporarily restricted portion of the fund to be used for the annual reward payout during the first five years. Investment income from the balance of $25,000 will fund the scholarship’s annual $1,000 student reward in perpetuity.

Additional contributions can be added to the scholarship fund to increase the annual award. The WSU Foundation will, by default, apply any additional contributions to the scholarship fund, but donors may choose to direct their donations to fund Current Needs, which is a pool used for annual awards. These amounts will then be added to
the $1,000 minimum annual award, helping a student immediately rather than being invested for the future.

Those wishing to contribute may submit a check payable to the WSU Foundation and note Michael A Barnard Memorial Scholarship in the memo line. Mail to Winona State University Foundation, PO Box 5838, Winona, MN 55987. Or give through the WSU Foundation gift page: www.winona.edu/foundation/. Click on the GIVE NOW
link, then select “Other” for the designation and type in “Michael A. Barnard Memorial Scholarship” in the text box.