Bovay Professorship in ethics is established in engineering college

By David Brand

The Cornell College of Engineering has established the Harry and Sue Bovay Professorship in the History of Ethics and Professional Engineering, and a national search is under way for a bioethicist to be the first holder of the chair.

Harry E. Bovay Jr., CEE '36, left, was honored at a reception in Anabel Taylor Hall Oct. 26, during which he was presented with a certificate of appreciation by John Hopcroft, dean of the College of Engineering. A gift from Bovay and his wife, Sue, will be used to endow the Bovay Professorship in Ethics in the college. Charles Harrington/University Photography

The professorship has been endowed with a gift by Harry E. Bovay Jr. (CEE '36), and his wife, Sue. It will be part of a campuswide initiative to teach ethics throughout the disciplines, funded by $1.68 million in income from an $8.5 million interest-free, seven-year loan from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

On Oct. 26, Bovay was honored at a reception in Anabel Taylor Hall, during which he was presented with a certificate of appreciation by John Hopcroft, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering.

The interdisciplinary search committee to fill the new chair is headed by Rick Cleary, associate dean of the college. Those participating will include Michele Moody-Adams, the Wyn and William Y. Hutchinson Professor and director of the Program on Ethics and Public Life.

Six years ago, an endowment from the Bovays established the Bovay Program for the Study of the History and Ethics of Professional Engineering, which has become an important part of academic life in the college. The program supports the integration of the history and ethics of the engineering profession into undergraduate engineering courses.

The Bovays' new commitment will strengthen and expand the Bovay program. The professorship will advance the development of the universitywide thrust in ethics and will help the college meet an emphasis on ethics as part of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology 2000 guidelines.

In 1946, Harry Bovay founded Bovay Engineers Inc., a company that was to undertake projects for NASA and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, as well as participate in the construction of major airports, schools and universities and factories around the world. Bovay later became president of Mid-South Telecommunications Co. and the operator of Bovista Farms in Tennessee and Texas. He served for nine years on the Cornell University Council and is past president of the Cornell Club of Houston. He is a member of the research and advisory committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and he also is a supporter of Texas A&M University and the Boy Scouts of America.

In April 1994 the Bovays were recognized as foremost benefactors of Cornell.