Manufacturer breaks the mold with visionary investment

Keith Henry (R), president and CEO of Windsor Mold Group and Dr. Mehrdad Saif, dean of engineering Keith Henry (R), president and CEO of the Windsor Mold Group, is pictured at a funding announcement in the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation March 22 with Dr. Mehrdad Saif (centre), dean of engineering and Dr. Marcello Guarini (L), dean of arts, humanities and social sciences. 

The Windsor Mold Group has announced a first-of-its-kind University of Windsor endowment that will propel UWindsor Engineering student education and innovation.
 
The endowment will support capstone design projects, which challenge fourth-year engineering students to apply the formal knowledge they’ve gained during their undergraduate studies to solve real-world problems. In addition to the Faculty of Engineering, Windsor Mold Group is supporting the university's Entrepreneurship Practice and Innovation Centre (EPICentre), and the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

“The Windsor Mold Group is proud to continue its support of the University of Windsor in many ways, the most recent of which demonstrates our continued commitment to the students in Engineering, EPICentre, and Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences,” said Keith Henry, president and CEO of the Windsor Mold Group.

Keith Henry (R), president and CEO of the Windsor Mold Group giving speech.uwindsor Capstone Design

The Windsor Mold Group Capstone Endowment will provide financial assistance to a minimum of eight capstone teams and more than 50 students on an annual basis. Capstone projects focus on engineering design, fabrication, testing, and project management. Learn more at uwindsor.ca/engineering/capstone.

Additional university-wide benefits of the gift include:

  • EPICentre will use the WMG’s gift to support EPICentre’s makerspace, the Windsor Mold Group EPIC Makers’ Base, which is collaborative space equipped with high-tech tools such as 3D printers and a laser cutter as well as simple hand tools for its members to learn new skills and create prototypes. The funding will also be used to support a part-time Makerspace Lead and to deliver the Make It & Take It workshop series.
     
  • FAHSS will provide the naming rights of two rooms in the School of Creative Arts — HCol Keith Henry 31 Svc Bn Classroom (in the Armouries) and the Windsor Mold Group 3D Print Lab (in the Alan Wildeman Centre for Creative Arts). The gift from Windsor Mold Group will assist in the development of the downtown campus and the Armouries, which has preserved a historic community landmark with a rich military history.

“Windsor Mold’s sustaining investment in arts, engineering, and entrepreneurship is both visionary and long-lasting,” interim president Douglas Kneale said. “We don’t often see such wide-ranging philanthropy. In fact, it is fair to say that this example of interdisciplinary, cross-faculty giving ‘breaks the mold.’”

Windsor Mold Group of companies provides world-class products and services for domestic and international customers in the tooling and automotive plastic molding industries.

View photos from the event on the UWindsor Engineering Facebook Page.