At their March 21 meeting, the University of Colorado Board of Regents approved a new name for the east wing of the Engineering and Applied Science Building at CU-Colorado Springs in memory of David E. Teets, who died tragically in an accident in December 2001.
Teets was a microelectronics engineer with an undergraduate degree from CU-Boulder and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Colorado Springs campus.
As a tribute to his son, Peter Teets had advised the family's charitable gift fund to donate $1.5 million to the University of Colorado Foundation with $1 million earmarked for facilities and programs at the Colorado Springs campus and $500,000 designated for a nanotechnology initiative at CU-Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science.
The Teets family has a long history of involvement with CU's engineering colleges at both Boulder and Colorado Springs.
Peter Teets, now serving as undersecretary of the Air Force, earned bachelor's and master's degrees from CU-Boulder in applied mathematics. He retired from Lockheed Martin in 1999 where he served as president and chief operating officer. Prior to that, he headed up the Martin Marietta Space Group.
CU President Betsy Hoffman said, "We are deeply touched that the Teets family has chosen to make this fitting and lasting tribute at the University of Colorado in memory of David Teets. This generous gesture means that David's name will be remembered and will become a part of campus life and learning everyday at CU."