Garmin co-founder gives $1 million to KU School of Engineering

Min Kao, co-founder and executive chairman of Olathe-based Garmin International Inc., has made a $1 million gift to support scholarships and programs at the University of Kansas School of Engineering.

Half of the gift through his family foundation will create the Min H. Kao Engineering Design Studio, and half will establish the Garmin Excellence Scholarship in the school’s electrical engineering and computer science department, the university said Thursday. In addition, a mentorship program will be established between the engineering school and Garmin, which makes satellite-based navigation equipment, among other things.

The gifts add to Kao’s past support of more than $500,000 in scholarships to the school. Kao earned a doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee.

This story was originally published January 30, 2014 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Garmin co-founder gives $1 million to KU School of Engineering."