Steven and Karen Raber Make a Difference for Future Virginia Engineers

Steve and Karen Raber, parents of Katherine Raber (SE ’12), believe in the importance of education and have a deep commitment to making the world a better place. That commitment led them to join the Engineering School Parents Council and make an unrestricted gift of $300,000 for Rice Hall, the information technology building set to open in fall 2012. Their contributions will impact the Engineering School for years to come.

Steve is chief executive officer for Mark 10:27 Investments LLC and executive chairman of Purewire Inc. Karen is the fundraising chair for St. Joseph’s High School in Ghana. The couple resides in Johns Creek, Ga., but visit U.Va. frequently, particularly at sporting events where their daughter Katherine, who is a member of the varsity cheerleading squad, can be seen encouraging the team.

Thanks in part to the Rabers’ generosity, Rice Hall will be a showcase for advanced technology with broadcast capabilities, interactive “smart surface” tables in the café, built-in microphones and projectors in every classrooms, a display screen in the atrium and kiosks for room scheduling.

“We have been richly blessed in life and we believe in giving back to society to acknowledge the gifts and blessings we’ve received,” Steve said. “We also believe that America needs more engineers and that the program here does a very good job of preparing students to be a success in engineering or in any field they choose. We wanted to support those efforts, and in particular we are pleased to help make Rice Hall the showcase we know it will be for future students.”