A Miami family's estate has given Florida Atlantic University $3.3 million to pay the full cost of college for electrical engineering students who need the help. FAU announced the gift on Oct. 21. It comes from the estate of Maria M. Treto and creates the Pedro Treto and Harry M. Harris Scholarship, named for her husband and her son.

A mother's gift to her son's school

Pedro and Maria Treto were both immigrants from Cuba who went on to develop real estate in the Miami area. Their son, Harry M. Harris, studied electrical engineering at FAU and died young of an embolism.

George Befeler, a lifelong friend of the family and a trustee of Maria Treto's estate, told the university she had always planned to remember FAU. According to Befeler, her son's years at the university were a high point of his life and taught him discipline, and the scholarship was her way of honoring that.

What the scholarship pays for

The gift endows the scholarship, which covers the full cost of attendance: tuition, books, fees and housing. It is open to electrical engineering students with demonstrated financial need.

FAU says the endowment is meant to let students in its College of Engineering and Computer Science finish their degrees without debt. The university has not said how many students the fund will support each year.

Where the students will study

The scholarship goes to students in FAU's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, part of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, whose address is FAU's main campus in Boca Raton. The university describes the department's work as centered on artificial intelligence and lists intelligent systems, robotics, cybersecurity, communications and data-driven technology among its fields.

FAU President Adam Hasner said the university was honored to carry the names of Harry Harris and Pedro Treto forward and that the gift would make an FAU degree more affordable for the students who receive it. Stella Batalama, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, called the gift a major moment for the college and thanked the Treto family on its behalf.

For students and families

The Pedro Treto and Harry M. Harris Scholarship is administered through FAU. Students interested in electrical engineering at FAU can find the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and links to its scholarships page, at fau.edu/engineering. FAU's main campus is at 777 Glades Road in Boca Raton.

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