Engineer of Distinction: New Chair of Florida’s Engineering Foundation Focused on Increasing Funding for Engineering Scholarships
Kevin Crump, P.E., is the new Chair of the Florida Engineering Foundation.
Kevin Crump, P.E., brings a lifelong passion for engineering, enthusiasm for education and a commitment to service to his new role as Chair of the Florida Engineering Foundation.
Launched in 1986, the Foundation promotes and enhances engineering education in Florida while positioning the state as a technological leader in the global economy. Working with organizations including Florida Engineering Society (FES), the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACEC Florida), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Foundation assists students pursuing engineering degrees.
“It's certainly an honor; it’s a privilege,” said Crump, reflecting the humility of a servant leader and acknowledging the hard work and dedication of his predecessors. “When you look at the list of the trustees – whether it's the current list or even the roster of trustees and emeritus trustees – it's some of the most notable names of engineering in the state of Florida. It’s truly a humbling experience to lead a group of extraordinary leaders.”
His Commitment to Service Started with Students
It was his experience with engineering students through FES student chapters at the University of Florida (UF) and the University of North Florida (UNF) that ultimately led Crump to a leadership role with Foundation. Those future engineers were eager for advice and guidance, which offered an avenue for Crump to give back.
“I felt a lot of professional satisfaction coming in and speaking to them and being a part of their journey,” Crump said. “They had numerous questions and they were great questions about, you know, ‘Should I study this, should I study that, should I go get an MBA after school?’ They were just clamoring for what a real professional had to share.”
A longtime senior and chief civil engineer at Haskell, Crump rose to the firm’s Director of Design and Technology Innovation over the summer, the latest role in an impactful career. Before Haskell, he worked in Dallas-Fort Worth and St. Louis. Crump graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Kansas in 2000 and earned a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida.
Crump graduated from the Florida Engineering Leadership Institute (FELI) in 2016, the same year he joined Foundation’s Board of Trustees to get more involved with the engineering industry at the state and local levels.
“It was like a marriage between what I really enjoyed doing in an extracurricular format, speaking to students, and then to be part of a 501c3 that does precisely that,” Crump said.
Spotlighting Scholarships
The Foundation, along with nine partner organizations, offers 24 different scholarships and scholarship funds for engineering students. To encourage charitable giving, the Foundation matches donations from organizations and individuals who contribute to a scholarship fund.
The Foundation also provides financial support for engineering education activities across the state, including the Florida Engineering Science Fair, Student Astronaut Challenge Competition, the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research and a number of other University & College Engineering Student Competitions.
The organization had reached a fiduciary corpus of over $1 million when Crump first joined, and that number of restricted and unrestricted funds has increased to $2.3 million today. During his first term, Crump hopes to grow the Foundation’s unrestricted funds to support additional scholarship programs. One of those initiatives is a 40 for 40 campaign, which will commemorate the organization’s 40th year of operations by identifying 40 additional contributors.
A Spirit of Giving Back
Outside of the Foundation, Crump is a standing member and former chairman of the UNF Engineering Advisory Board, along with an advisory board at his alma mater. Early in Crump’s career, he worked on a host of projects across the urban environment, including hotels, hospitals and university projects. While he works more with design-build projects now in Jacksonville, he finds the most purpose in projects that impact communities.
“I’ve always liked projects that really return value back to the human experience, whether it be a school project or football field,” Crump said. “I kind of connect with those types of projects because they mean a lot to people. They really motivate you as an engineer to not just do a great job but to give it everything you have because at some point somebody's going to be experiencing that environment for educational purposes, athletic purposes, institutional purposes or worship purposes.”
Crump will undoubtedly bring that same sense of purpose as the leader of the Foundation.
“Engineering is a learned profession,” Crump said. “It can be taught obviously at the academic level, at the university level, but beyond that it comes much deeper. If anyone harbors a genuine appreciation for supporting engineering education in Florida, the Florida Engineering Foundation is perfect for that.”