The Carl and Louise Pettersch Library Endowment in Critical Technologies was established in 1999 through the couple’s estate. Carl (’28) was the first of his family to seek a university education. From teaching in tiny Edmore, Michigan, to serving as dean of graduate studies at West Connecticut State, education was his life’s work. Upon retirement, he and his wife Clarissa returned to their hometown of Grand Rapids. There, he co-founded Emeritus College at Aquinas College and produced radio broadcasts, which were aired in western Michigan. Following his wife’s death in 1991, he married Louise Buckley. They both passed away in 1998, months apart.

Critical technologies change with time, and new journals, reports, and databases continuously evolve to meet the needs of engineers, scientists, and scholars working with them.  Most recently, the Pettersch Endowment was used to purchase e-books in computer science and energy to expand the collection in those subject areas. Each and every discovery and innovation at Notre Dame has a research component, and funding from this endowment enables research and researchers to grow in their work.