Harriet and Fred Cox

It is said that scientists dream and engineers do. Harriet and Fred Cox were dreamers and doers. They made dreams of countless UNLV students come true through their philanthropy, having donated more than $1 million in support of the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering.

The Coxes were involved with UNLV since Harriet established a scholarship in her husband’s honor in 1998. They subsequently funded a scholarship to attract female students to engineering, as well as the Engineering College’s capstone program: the Senior Design Competition.

The founder of four corporations – Emulex Corporation, Manufacturers Capital, Microdata Corporation, and Dynus Incorporated—Fred was valedictorian of Texas A&M University and later received two graduate degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his engineering career he created three patented inventions. He served on the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees, the College of Engineering Advisory Board, and the Mendenhall Innovation Program Board. He was a founding member of the Nevada State College Foundation Board. Fred passed away in 2014.

Harriet has served on numerous boards as well, including Hopelink and Nevada Ballet Theater. She and Fred were founding members of the Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Engineering education, community service, and family remained high priorities in the Coxes’ lives.