Donation from Retired Computer Software Entrepreneur and Wife to Support UB Engineering Undergraduate Labs

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- University at Buffalo alumnus and retired computer software entrepreneur Larry Peckham and his wife, Nancy, have donated $250,000 to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences for the continuing development of undergraduate laboratories.

Mark Karwan, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said the flexibility of the Peckhams' gift is of "paramount importance to our school," because "maintaining up-to-date laboratories is key to the development of our students."

Karwan, who will disperse the money according the needs of the individual laboratories, added, "With this gift, Larry and Nancy show that they understand and appreciate the integral role technology plays in the fields of engineering."

"I hope we can give students the tools they need to accomplish their goals and earn degrees," said Nancy Peckham. "The university needs to keep pace, upgrading and matching today's constantly evolving technology."

Peckham, who earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from UB in 1969, said he worked so hard to obtain the degree that it gave him confidence to "achieve anything I wanted to.

"I learned a lot at UB. It was a very good return on investment," Peckham added.

He worked for three years at Xerox before returning to UB to earn his MBA in 1974. To finance his studies, Peckham started his own computer software company, LPA Software, Inc.

After graduating No. 1 in his MBA class, Peckham worked alone for the next five years, developing LPA Software into an international business leader in the fields of defect detection software and supply-chain management software for service parts.

Guided by a 12-year business plan that took advantage of the dramatic increase in computer technology sales in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Peckham grew LPA Software into one of the most successful private businesses in the Rochester area. In 1998, a group of private investors bought a major share of the company, renaming it Xelus, Inc. In 2000, Peckham stepped down as company chairman.

Peckham remains active in the community, serving on the Dean's Council for UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the advisory board for RIT's computer engineering technology program and chairing the Webster Open Space Committee. He also has served on the Workforce Investment Board, Greater Rochester Enterprise, United Way of Rochester and the Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce's High Technology Business Council. Recognized for his leadership, Peckham won the Sematech Award in 1993 for his outstanding contribution to the semiconductor industry and was named "Business Person of the Year" by Business Strategies Magazine in 1998.

Nancy Peckham is a retired fund-raiser from the Rochester office of the American Heart Association.

The Peckhams' gift is part of UB's $250 million fund-raising campaign, one of the largest ever conducted by a public university in New York and New England. Although it's the fifth major campaign conducted by UB of its kind, it is the first national/international, university-wide and alumni-driven campaign with volunteer leaders from all over the country. Funds raised will be used to enrich academic programs, support undergraduates to post-doctoral students and enhance university life.

For information on how you can support the University at Buffalo, go to http://www.buffalo.edu/giving.