Dr. Bobby and Lori Savoie have donated $5 million to the University of New Orleans College of Engineering. It is the largest gift to an academic college in the history of the University. In recognition of the gift, the University has named the college the Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering.
Dr. Savoie earned a doctorate in engineering and applied science from UNO in 2009.
“I am forever grateful to Bobby and Lori for their generosity and multifaceted support of our university,” said President John Nicklow. “Bobby, as a previous Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Alumni Award winner of the University, is a role model, providing exemplary service to UNO, his city and the state. The Savoies’ commitment comes at a time when affordable, high-quality education in the engineering disciplines is more important than ever for students, employers and communities.”
The Savoies’ gift will endow an engineering support fund that will provide resources for a wide range of strategic initiatives within the college including scholarships for students with financial need, cutting-edge research and facility enhancements, according to Nicklow.
“We have often heard that the University of New Orleans built the middle class of New Orleans,” Dr. Savoie said. “But this step is about the future, not the past. It’s about helping President Nicklow and the incredibly talented people at the University of New Orleans to complete the vision of making an engineering degree from UNO recognized as the outstanding degree I know it to be.”
Dr. Savoie is the President and Chief Science and Engineering Officer of Sev1Tech, a leading provider of IT modernization, cybersecurity, cloud services and engineering to government agencies and major commercial organizations. Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metro area, Sev1Tech supports critical missions across defense, intelligence, homeland security, space and health markets.
Dr. Savoie served as the CEO of Geocent, LLC, a Metairie-based information technology and engineering services company until its acquisition by Sev1Tech in 2021. He previously founded Integrated Resources Group in 1986 and served as CEO until it merged with Science & Engineering Associates (SEA) in 1987. He became president and then CEO of SEA and guided the company through an extraordinary growth period.
While serving as CEO of progressively larger companies, Dr. Savoie continued his work as an engineer and consultant, primarily in nuclear power and defense, including NASA’s next generation Space Launch System, large government information systems and numerous economic development activities.
Dr. Savoie currently serves on the boards of the UNO Foundation and the National WWII Museum, among others, and he represents Louisiana on the Aerospace Alliance Board. He also served as a director, trustee and senior adviser for the Atlantic Council of the United States and is a former board member of the Louisiana Technology Council, the U.S. Small Business Technology Foundation, the Boy Scouts of America, the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Isidore Newman School and Greater New Orleans, Inc.
He has been honored with NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal, Laureate of the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame and the Young Leadership Council Role Model Award.
The Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering offers the only civil engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering programs in metro New Orleans. It also boasts the Boysie Bollinger School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, one of the few such schools in the nation.
