When James Fishbeck was a young boy living in Alpena, his father gave him interesting gifts to catch his attention. A chemistry set failed to ignite anything in the young man, as did a microscope. However, his Dad hit a home run with a Knight 6-in-1 kit - which turned out to be a life changer.
"It was the best Christmas ever," Fishbeck remembers. "I opened the box to find six things to make work. My favorite was a one-tube radio. By the time I was in junior high, I was living in Lansing and committed to becoming an electrical engineer at MSU."
Fishbeck worked his way through college as a transmitter engineer at WILS Radio, a commercial AM/FM station in Lansing. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1966 and headed to Iowa to work for Collins Radio as a flight control systems design engineer.
At Collins, he was on the team that designed a new, custom flight control system for the country's first jet-powered Air Force One, an Air Force version of the Boeing 707. He also served as the on-site engineer who oversaw the installation.
"I worked on Air Force One during the first year of Nixon's presidency. A side benefit was being able to observe the transformation of the airplane's interior from LBJ's cowboy motif to a blue and gray design that the Nixons wanted," Fishbeck said.
Then one day, Fishbeck was polishing his shoes over a newspaper when a job listed in the help-wanted ads caught his eye.
That lucky happenstance led him to spend the next 30 years working his way through key roles at the semiconductor company Analog Devices. His positions ranged from product marketing manager, to director of corporate marketing, and finally director of investor relations reporting to the CEO.
Today, Fishbeck and Lee Morgan live on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and enjoy trips in their small plane, which Fishbeck pilots. He said he's reached the age where it is time to give back for all that he has been given and enjoyed. That's why the couple funded the James O. Fishbeck and Lee A. Morgan Professorship in Engineering with a $1 million pledge. The couple also pledged $1 million for a professorship in the Broad College of Business.
"The College of Engineering is very grateful to Jim and Lee for their generous gift," Engineering Dean Leo Kempel said. "Endowed professorships allow the college to continue striving for increased recognition and impact in a highly competitive market here in Michigan and across the nation," Kempel added.
"MSU is all I've ever known," Fishbeck explained. "Engineering was a fully reputable school when I went there in the 1960s. I went back and earned an MBA in 1970 and am amazed at the strides Broad College has made since then."
Recruiting for the first Fishbeck-Morgan Endowed Chair in Engineering begins in 2021. It will be the fourth endowed chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.