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This year, the Computer Science Department became the grateful recipient of two major gifts.

Bill ’71 and Phylis Mischo donated $25,000 to establish the Computer Science Innovation Fund, a program endowment that will financially support equipment and new learning technologies. Carthage trustee Christine (Burkee) Hobbs ’71 and Richard Hobbs made a $60,000 pledge to create the Hobbs-Burkee Computer Science Scholarship. These two endowments will exist in perpetuity and benefit computer science students for generations to come.

Mr. Mischo, a first-generation college student, came to Carthage with the intention to play football and major in physical education. His plans soon changed, however, after discovering a passion for advanced calculus in his first year. He switched his major to mathematics and became less interested in running plays and more interested in writing programs.

“I was always very interested in computers, but this was very early days,” said Mr. Mischo. “We just had a teletype machine with paper tape input that was hooked to a mainframe in Chicago.”

He fondly recalls using this machine during an independent study, in which he created a computer program that simulated the first 300 seconds of the 1962 Mercury-Atlas 6 space flight. Physics Professor John Casey and mathematics Professor Harvey Glaess were instrumental in guiding his independent learning. This type of personalized attention and focus on practical skill-building are still qualities that make the Carthage computer science program the success it is today.

These qualities are also what Mrs. and Mr. Hobbs credit for the success of their son, Michael Hobbs ’15, who attended Carthage as a nontraditional student. They hope their scholarship will support future students who also find their calling in the computer science program at Carthage. It will be awarded for the first time this year.

For Mr. Mischo, it was important that his gift not benefit any one particular student, but rather the program as a whole. He established the Computer Science Innovation Fund to support the purchase and upkeep of equipment and instructional technology used by the department. “Right now, it’s a very small endowment, but my hope is that it will serve as a seed grant and that others will help to build up a more significant endowment that would be very useful for the program,” he explained.

To this end, Carthage trustee Maria Nalywayko and Bohdan Drobenko, parents of Zack Drobenko ’19, are issuing a challenge. They will match all gifts of $50 or more made to the Computer Science Innovation Fund or the Hobbs-Burkee Computer Science Scholarship from now until Homecoming, Oct. 2, up to $2,500. Use this opportunity to double your impact and say thank you to the professors who guided your Carthage education. Make your gift at .

Lastly, we want to thank the many alumni and friends who’ve given to the Computer Science Department this past year — especially those who helped fund the sidewalk paver acknowledging the Class of 2020. As you can imagine, this was a difficult year for our seniors, and your support speaks volumes.