UA Renames College Of Engineering For Lee J. Styslinger Jr. After $25M Gift

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The University of Alabama has renamed its College of Engineering in honor of Lee J. Styslinger Jr. after a $25 million gift from his wife, Catherine Styslinger.

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The UA System Board of Trustees approved the naming during its Oct. 17 meeting.

The Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering is the third named college at the university, joining the Culverhouse College of Business and the Barefield College of Arts & Sciences.

The college enrolls more than 5,500 students and offers 30 degree programs.

UA President Peter J. Mohler said the gift will allow the college to strengthen research, recruit faculty and expand work in areas such as AI, energy and manufacturing.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Styslinger family for investing in our students’ future,” Mohler said. “This transformational gift empowers the College of Engineering to think bigger through education, research and innovation. Our graduates will turn knowledge into impact as they lead solutions to critical challenges in energy, manufacturing, space, mobility, data and AI — and this is only the beginning.”

Dean Clifford L. Henderson said the endowment gives the college flexibility to respond quickly to new opportunities.

“With discretionary resources of this scale, we can respond quickly to opportunities, enhance the student experience, recruit outstanding faculty and so much more," he said. "It positions us for immediate impact while giving us the means to invest strategically in the future.”

Styslinger, born in Birmingham in 1933, studied mechanical engineering at UA before taking over his family’s company, which became Altec Inc., a global equipment provider.

He died in 2021 at age 88.

The gift contributes to UA’s $1.8 billion Rising Tide 2.0 capital campaign, which has created more than 1,200 scholarships and 66 endowed faculty funds and supported major campus construction.

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