William and Mary VanLeer M.Eng. ’12 are helping shape the future of systems engineering through a transformative estate gift
VanLeer Legacy Gift Empowers Future Innovators in Systems Engineering
Mary VanLeer M.Eng. ’12 and her husband William are helping shape the future of systems engineering at Stevens through a transformative estate gift. Their bequest establishes the William L. and Mary D. VanLeer Endowed Scholarship and the Mary VanLeer M.Eng. ’12 Endowed Research Fund, propelling the next generation of innovative leaders and fueling impactful research.
The scholarship is deeply meaningful to them, each in a personal way. For Mary, earning her master’s degree in systems engineering at Stevens in 2012 was a dynamic experience that accelerated her career.
“My inspiration for giving to Stevens comes from the fact that I got my own Master of Engineering degree at Stevens, and I found that that had opened a lot of doors for me and enabled me to have enough confidence in myself to do things that I may not have been able to do without it,” Mary says.
Will was accepted to Stevens as an undergraduate in 1963 but was unable to enroll due to financial circumstances.
“Will had the ability to go to Stevens, but he lacked $600 for tuition,” Mary says. “His parents weren’t able to help him, and he refused to take out a loan. This was in the 1960s when money was very tight. So what we hope with this scholarship is to open doors for students who really need it and will benefit from attending Stevens.”
Formative Stevens Experience
Throughout her career, Mary has held executive technology and engineering roles across major organizations including International Game Technology, Sun Microsystems and StorageTek. She connected to Stevens through Dinesh Verma, then the founding dean of the former School of Systems and Enterprises, who currently serves as professor and executive director of the Systems Engineering Research Center.
“Mary is inherently a systems thinker and sponsored me to visit a number of leading companies in the Bay Area around the topics of systems engineering, architecting and systems thinking and the role they play in enhanced competitiveness,” Verma says. “This led to us becoming good friends and during our discussions, I suggested that she formalize her academic background with a master’s degree in systems engineering from Stevens. She did that and continued to have a significant impact in industry and government.”
Mary enrolled in the Systems Design and Operational Effectiveness (SDOE) program at Stevens, a pioneering graduate program that taught professionals to design complex systems with their full lifecycle performance in mind, emphasizing real-world, project-based learning to connect engineering decisions with operational outcomes like reliability, cost and mission success. Through the program, she worked on projects with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Inspiring A Legacy
“Giving back to Stevens is meaningful to me,” Mary notes. “Because I had this Stevens education, I had the confidence to do things that I thought I'd never been able to do in my life. I hope my gift for students will give them the same opportunities that I had.”
Her Stevens degree, she adds, gave her authority when she advocated for systems engineering with corporate executives. “It brought forth a way for me to communicate to chief information and chief technology officers the value of systems thinking and systems engineering,” Mary says, noting that mentioning her Stevens credentials often earned her immediate respect and credibility.
Verma says the generous commitment from the VanLeers is a “win-win-win” for the Department of Systems Engineering.
“Their generosity is a win for our students, a win for systems engineering education and research, and a win for Stevens,” Verma says. “The support is even more meaningful coming from an alumna. This is what leads to a virtuous culture and cycle of hard work, accomplishment and giving back.”
Fueling Student Innovation and Research
During a visit to campus for Innovation Expo 2026, the VanLeers met with students and were impressed by their talent, ambition and creativity. “They are definitely smart engineers,” Mary says. “You just see it. There's just something about the way they carry themselves, the way they interact, the things they do. It was a great experience to see where research is going on campus.”
“I want to help students to make a difference in the world and understand the value of thinking holistically,” Mary says. “With research, it’s not about what’s next. Students need to think about what’s next after next. I want to empower them to ask the hard questions.”
Verma says the VanLeers’ visionary support for scholarships and research will help advance systems engineering at Stevens. “It will allow us to attract talented students to a field that is going to continue to grow in importance as complexity increases — within the systems we conceive and within our society.”
Investing in Possibility
“What I see for the future of systems engineering really is around the art of the possible,” Mary says. “How we can bring together so many various things to create new systems and new capabilities that will really move us forward.”
Mary and Will met in 1987 while working together at StorageTek in Colorado. Will worked at IBM for seven years and as a non-degreed advisory engineer at StorageTek for 34 years. Through their support, Will wants to inspire Stevens students to become impactful leaders. To which, Mary adds, “Our hope is that they offer the world possibilities.”
