$25 million gift from Catherine Styslinger and family to college of engineering
The University of Alabama’s College of Engineering will now bear the name of one of the state’s most respected business and civic leaders, following a $25 million gift from Catherine Styslinger in honor of her late husband, Lee J. Styslinger Jr.
The announcement marks one of the most significant naming gifts in the university’s history and highlights a philanthropic legacy spanning generations of the Styslinger family.
The newly named Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering serves more than 5,500 students across seven departments and offers 14 undergraduate and 16 graduate programs.
The endowment, which will be fully discretionary, provides UA with the flexibility to direct funds to its most pressing needs—recruiting top-tier faculty, expanding research, and creating transformative student experiences. UA President Peter J. Mohler called the gift “transformational,” saying it will empower the college “to think bigger through education, research, and innovation,” while preparing graduates to lead in emerging fields such as energy, mobility, data science, and artificial intelligence.
Dean Clifford Henderson said the unrestricted nature of the gift allows the college to “respond quickly to opportunities” and “invest strategically in the future.”
The gift also cements the Styslinger family’s position among Alabama’s most influential benefactors. Born in Birmingham in 1933, Lee J. Styslinger Jr. studied mechanical engineering at UA before taking over the family business at 19, following his father’s death.
That company, Alabama Truck Equipment, grew under his leadership into Altec, Inc., a global manufacturer of equipment for the electric utility, telecommunications, and tree care industries. Known for his relentless drive and quiet determination, Styslinger guided Altec to become a major international player while maintaining a deep sense of civic responsibility.
His wife, Catherine, described him as “a humble man” who “never gave up” and who would have been proud to see the college carry his name. “He would have wanted other students to have the education that he received there,” she said.
Philanthropy and service were hallmarks of Styslinger’s life. In 1997, he and Catherine founded the Altec/Styslinger Foundation, which has supported educational and workforce development programs throughout Alabama and beyond.
The foundation has provided major gifts to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, including a leading contribution to establish the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building. It has invested in initiatives such as the Birmingham Promise scholarship program.
Over the years, Styslinger served on the boards of organizations including Highlands Day School, Children’s Harbor, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Junior Achievement of Greater Birmingham, and the American Red Cross. The couple’s three sons—Lee III, Jon, and Mark—have continued that legacy of civic involvement, with Altec’s leadership remaining closely tied to charitable efforts in the communities it serves.
The naming of the Styslinger College of Engineering follows a year of historic momentum at the University of Alabama. It becomes the third college on campus to carry a family name, joining the Hugh F. Culverhouse College of Business and the J. Frank Barefield Jr. College of Arts & Sciences.
The announcement comes amid the university’s record-breaking Rising Tide 2.0 capital campaign, which has already exceeded its $1.8 billion goal more than a year ahead of schedule. The campaign has generated over 1,200 new scholarships, dozens of endowed faculty positions, and significant campus expansions that reflect UA’s growing national profile.
For the College of Engineering, the timing could not be more symbolic. In the last fiscal year, the college surpassed $100 million in new external research awards for the first time in its history—a 244 percent increase in just five years.
More than 70 percent of faculty received new research funding during that period, signaling a surge in innovation and competitiveness. The university’s leadership sees the Styslinger endowment as the next catalyst for growth, enabling the college to pursue bold projects and recruit the faculty and students who will define the next era of American engineering.
For Catherine Styslinger, the gift is both a tribute and an act of faith. It honors her husband’s life and work while investing in a future he would have believed in: one grounded in education, determination, and service. “Lee always believed in giving others the tools to succeed,” she said.
“This college will continue that legacy for generations to come.”
With the naming of the Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering, the University of Alabama not only celebrates a visionary industrialist but affirms the enduring power of philanthropy to shape lives, strengthen communities, and carry forward a family’s belief in the promise of education.