PHOTO CAPTION: The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, established by the late Bill
Pulte, the founder of Pulte Homes, has made a $1 million endowment gift to benefit
the Construction Technology and Management program at Ferris State University. Below
is Bill Pulte.
The philanthropic mission of Bill Pulte, the founder of Pulte Homes, will benefit the Construction Technology and Management program in Ferris State University’s College of Engineering Technology.
The announcement of a $1 million gift from the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation came Thursday, Oct. 24, during the Michigan Construction Hall of Fame’s Distinguished Constructor Awards Banquet.
The gift provides a $700,000 award to establish the William J. Pulte Scholarship Endowment,
which receives a match from The Ferris Foundation, as part of the Ferris Futures Scholarship
Challenge. The remaining $300,000 will go to the Construction Management Experiential
Technical Learning Endowment, focused on program and student development, through
enhancement of the CTMG program.
Karen Pulte, the director of scholarship programs for the PFCF said her late husband built one of the most admired businesses in the world by stressing learning for his employees and collaboration with subcontractors, to promote excellence in the building process. She sees great potential in opportunities to support Ferris students and the greater construction industry through this gift.
“Bill recognized the importance of having a skilled and responsive workforce to assure the quality and value of each home that the corporation produced,” Karen said. “We are thrilled that the William J. Pulte Construction Practices Lab in the Granger Center for Construction and HVACR will expand his legacy and benefit all CTMG students, along with those who receive support from the Pulte Scholarship Endowment.”
Suzanne Miller, a CTMG professor and program coordinator, agreed the PFCF award was “a fantastic way to reach all students in the program.”
“The endowment donation will benefit students whose circumstances might have made their education costs insurmountable,” Miller said. “Bill Pulte was attuned to the variety of particular talents that come together in the construction process, but he was most excited by the deliberation and problem solving that arises in each project. We are here to develop leaders in the construction industry, with a greater ability to augment student learning in our Practices Lab, thanks to this astounding gift from the Foundation.”
Ferris President David Eisler expressed gratitude for the generosity of the Pulte family and their Foundation.
“Bill Pulte was truly a legendary leader in the home building industry,” Eisler said. “This transformational gift and the endowment it creates will make an important difference for our students and the Construction Management program not just now, but for generations to come.”
Pulte was named a Distinguished Constructor at the banquet, along with Clyde J. Jones, the former owner and president of Centerline Electric, in Centerline; the late Burton Pearson, Sr., of Pearson Construction, in Benton Harbor; and Jay H. Smith, of Lansing’s The Christman Company.