Meet Our Donors
William R. DiMarino ’68
William R. DiMarino ’68
William R. DiMarino ’68, wanted to build structures that benefit mankind. Hospitals, museums, schools, religious institutions – buildings that become woven into the fabric of the lives they touch. Now, having enjoyed a long and successful career, Bill wants to leave a legacy to help construct something else – the next generation of builders.
In 2014, the 73-year-old Philadelphia native established the William R. DiMarino ’68 Endowed Scholarship Fund, which helps defray the cost of an education for Drexel University students enrolled in construction management at the College of Engineering who are committed to a career in the construction field. He recently made a bequest gift that will significantly expand the scholarship fund and enable it to help many more students.
Back in the 1960s, William was a Drexel civil engineering student when John Rumpf, then dean of the College of Engineering, asked a class of would-be engineers whether any students wanted to go beyond designing to building. William’s hand shot up.
“That was a very profound day in my life,’’ William remembers. “John gave me the ability to learn how to be a builder, as opposed to working in an office designing. It’s very different when you’re out in the field, building a project.’’
The hybrid curriculum included all the standard civil engineering courses and also incorporated new courses in areas like construction law, project scheduling and materials management – an approach still in use today.
William was among the first class to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a major in construction – an education that enabled him to launch a prosperous career in the field he loved.
The first part of that career was spent at major international construction corporations, traveling across the globe and working on a wide range of commercial, health-related and government projects. In the early 1990s, William opened his own company -- WRD Construction Consultants in Palm Harbor, Florida – a business he still operates today.
“I have this desire, this wish, this driving force that I want to help maintain the integrity and ability of Drexel to produce quality builders,’’ William says. “I think Drexel by far is the best school in the United States for someone who wants to become a builder. I want my personal legacy to support those students who will be the next generation of great builders, and I invite others to join me in this investment in the future.’’