Making a Difference
Former RPI Ice Hockey Player Endows Head Coach Position
Lloyd Bauer ’55 first learned of RPI when Bill Harkness, the then Lacrosse Coach at Yale University, approached him in the locker room after his West Haven High School hockey practice. Bill mentioned his brother was a hockey coach at RPI and suggested Lloyd apply. “I thought I heard RIP (rest in peace),” Lloyd recounted. After some thought and discussion, Lloyd decided to enroll at RPI in the fall of 1951. He never looked back.
Little did Lloyd know, that single decision would lead him to an experience he would never forget. He played defense for the ice hockey team under the leadership of legendary coach, Ned Harkness, which ultimately led the team to a NCAA Division I Championship in 1954. Lloyd continues to proudly display his ring from that win, and notes that “other than family, one person that has had a lasting influence on my life was Ned Harkness.”
During his time at Rensselaer, in addition to being a member of the ice hockey team, Lloyd joined the Theta Xi fraternity. He found that these two experiences taught him many life lessons that he carried throughout his career. Lloyd graduated from Rensselaer in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering. He received a Master of Engineering in 1959, and a Doctor of Engineering in 1961, both from Yale University. In 1984 he received the degree of Docteur ès sciences honoris causa from l`École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne.
Lloyd led a successful 37-year career at Carnegie Mellon University as a professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, and was also designated as an invited professor at universities in Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and France. Lloyd’s parents always told him that “education is something that can’t be lost, stolen, or bartered, and is a gateway to a better life,” which led him to establish The Charles W. and Dorothy F. Bauer Scholarship in 2004, in memory of his parents who made his educational experience possible. Most recently, his fond memories of playing on the ice hockey team and wish to support future generations of RPI ice hockey players inspired him to establish the C. Lloyd Bauer ’55 Endowed Men’s Ice Hockey Coach. Coach Dave Smith is the inaugural C. Lloyd Bauer ’55 Endowed Men’s Varsity Ice Hockey Coach, and is in his fifth season leading the Engineers.
Lloyd still keeps in touch with his former team members and Theta Xi brothers. He and his wife, Janet, live in Florida. They have two children, three grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.
“Education is something that can’t be lost, stolen, or bartered, and is a gateway to a better life.”
Lloyd Bauer ’55
Leaving Their Legacy
The Rensselaer Heritage Society celebrates the more than 600 alumni who have chosen to leave their legacy at their alma mater by planning a testamentary or life income gift. We salute the commitment and support of these individuals, David Halwig ’72 and Nancy DeLoye Fitzroy ’49.
David Halwig ’72 earned his bachelor’s degree in management engineering at Rensselaer. Following his service as a combat engineer officer, he led a successful career providing financial management, strategy, and information technology services to commercial and governmental clients as a senior leader at firms including KPMG Consulting and Latin America Public Sector Consulting. Upon retirement, he co-founded IntelliVen, Inc. Mr. Halwig played a role in complementing a Rensselaer education with the intentional development of leadership skills. This led to a more than thirty-year association with the Archer Center for Leadership Development, where he served as an advisor and frequent guest speaker on leadership topics. He was also a founding member of the team that devised the experiential learning program at the innovative Challenge Studio. Mr. Halwig’s planned gift is a bequest that supports the Archer Center and the Challenge Studio, reinforcing his belief in the value of experiential and multi-disciplinary learning opportunities as part of the Rensselaer educational experience.
Nancy DeLoye Fitzroy ’49 was the first woman to graduate from Rensselaer with a degree in chemical engineering. She is an internationally recognized expert in the field of mechanical engineering, as well as a licensed commercial helicopter and twin-engine airplane pilot. Dr. Fitzroy is a member of the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame and became the first woman in the U.S. to head a major professional engineering society. She was recognized as an honorary fellow of Britain’s Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1998, and elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995. In 1998, Dr. Fitzroy, along with her late husband Roland, established a bequest to recognize the commitment to excellence in the School of Engineering with the creation of the Nancy and Roland Fitzroy Professor of Engineering. Their generosity was most recently recognized with the renaming of the Admissions building on campus as the Nancy DeLoye Fitzroy ’49 and Roland V. Fitzroy Jr. Admissions Building. For more information on leaving your legacy through a planned gift, contact Drew Babitts at babita@rpi.edu or visit plannedgiving.rpi.edu.
