Rinaldi has been president and chief executive officer of the Mulberry Corporation, in Manhattan. The Mulberry Corporation mines phosphate ore, chemically upgrades it into a high analysis finished fertilizer, which is marketed in bulk worldwide.

The scholarship is not based on financial need. However, recipients must be a student in the Albert Dorman Honors College, planning to major in engineering or architecture. It begins in fall 2001.

"Endowing a scholarship in the name of my father and recently deceased mother was as natural for me as spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family, and really just as personal," says Rinaldi. He resides in Bridgewater Township with his wife Susan and their two sons. "My parents' story was typical of many first-generation Americans. They worked hard and they sacrificed to ensure that their children were well educated. To this day, Dad takes great pride in having been able to put the three of us through college. They have always been passionate about children and young adults. Endowing a scholarship at my alma mater for students from their hometown is an important way to say `thank you' to them and to acknowledge their legacy in our family and in the community," Rinaldi says.

Kappa national leadership honor society, Rinaldi has focused his career on developing and rehabilitating energy and natural resource businesses in the phosphate, oil and metals/refining industries. He has been a member of the university's Board of Overseers since March of 2000.

NJIT is a public research university enrolling more than 8,800 bachelor's, master's and doctoral students in 80 degree programs through its five colleges: Newark College of Engineering, New Jersey School of Architecture, College of Science and Liberal Arts, the School of Management and the Albert Dorman Honors College. Research initiatives include manufacturing, microelectronics, multimedia, transportation, computer science, solar astrophysics, environmental engineering and science, and architecture and building science.

According to Yahoo! Internet Life magazine rankings, NJIT has been one of America's Top 5 "most wired" universities. U.S. News and World Report's "2000 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges" ranked NJIT among the nation's top universities, and Money magazine's most recent issue of "Best College Buys" rated NJIT as the sixth best value among U.S. science and technology schools and among the top 100 overall. In September 1999, Mademoiselle ranked NJIT as the second most Internet-connected university in the nation.

For more information about the Rinaldi scholarship, contact the NJIT Office of University Advancement, 973-596-3430.