Two successful University of Alaska Anchorage engineering graduates, Jan van den Top, ’72, and Ted Trueblood, ’80, have each created endowments for UAA's College of Engineering, providing perpetual funding to ensure the college's and its students' success.
Jan van den Top, a mechanical engineer, received his master's degree from UAA while employed by a local engineering firm. He has made significant investments in UAA over the years, sharing, "When I first came to Alaska, the UAA community was such a great help for me. It was really influential for my career. Now, I want to do my part to provide the tools that UAA needs to be successful."
Originally from the Netherlands, van den Top's philosophy of providing people with the tools they need for success stems from his experiences in Kenya while working with the Netherlands Volunteer Organization. He and his wife Jeri later settled in Alaska, where her parents lived. He built and operated a successful mechanical contracting firm, The Superior Group Inc., for over 40 years and has now retired.
“Now, I want to do my part to provide the tools that UAA needs to be successful.”
Van den Top's endowment supports UAA's mechanical engineering program, ensuring it remains at the forefront of teaching and research. The college renamed the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Lab in his honor. Additionally, The Superior Group Inc., now employee-owned thanks to van den Top's efforts, established a scholarship for engineering students in his honor.
Ted Trueblood, who used his money from the GI Bill to earn a master's degree in civil engineering from UAA, has had a distinguished career in engineering. A decorated military veteran, he worked with the Alaska Railroad before becoming CEO of Tryck Nyman Hayes Inc., an Anchorage engineering firm. Trueblood and his wife, Gloria, have been loyal donors to UAA for nearly three decades and are strong advocates for education. "Education is paramount," said Trueblood. "From my perspective, you can't start cutting class sizes and offerings without thinking about how it impacts the rest of the state, the public and the consumers of our products."
Together, they established the Ted and Gloria Trueblood Endowment to support Arctic engineering research, provide scholarship awards for graduate students and help students prepare for engineering licensure exams. The college named the Ted and Gloria Trueblood Cold Regions Engineering lab to honor the couple's generosity.
Through their accomplishments, van den Top and Trueblood demonstrate the value of engineering education from UAA and exemplify the impact of philanthropy, ensuring future generations of engineering students have the resources they need to succeed.
