University of Minnesota Establishes Scholarship to Honor Tom Burnett

What: Memorial fund to honor United Flight 93 passenger Tom Burnett
When: Pregame ceremony, 11:04 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29
Where: Metrodome
Contacts: Martha Douglas, University Foundation, (612) 624-3333 or (800) 775-2187
Deane Morrison, University News Service, (612) 624-2346

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL--Tom Burnett, Jr., a passenger on hijacked United Flight 93 who is believed to have helped thwart the hijackers' plan, will be honored for his heroics with a memorial fund in his name at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota. The Thomas E. Burnett, Jr., Memorial Fund will be used to benefit University of Minnesota students and promote the type of character and leadership exemplified by Burnett. The university will honor Burnett, other victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, and the police, fire and EMT departments involved in the rescue and recovery effort at 11:04 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, during a pregame ceremony at the Minnesota-Purdue game in the Metrodome. Members of the Burnett family and university President Mark Yudof will attend.

Burnett, 38, a 1986 graduate of the Carlson School of Management and member of Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity, is believed by investigators to have been among the passengers who kept the hijackers from crashing the plane into a national landmark, which would likely have resulted in many more deaths on the ground. Instead, the plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Burnett lived with his wife and three daughters in San Ramon, Calif., where he was senior vice president of Thoratec Corp., a medical research and development company.

"The University of Minnesota is proud to call Tom Burnett, Jr., one of its own," said Yudof. "This fund is a fitting memorial to a man who cared deeply about his fellow human beings and who, by his actions, has earned the nation's everlasting gratitude. History will rightly number him among the heroes who had greatness thrust upon them."

Persons wishing to make a gift to the memorial fund should contact the University of Minnesota Foundation at (612) 624-3333 or (800) 775-2187 or visit the foundation Web site at http://www.giving.umn.edu/. Donors can make a gift by mail or phone or online, designating it to the Burnett Memorial Fund. The mailing address is University of Minnesota Foundation, Suite 500, McNamara Alumni Center/University of Minnesota Gateway, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis MN 55455-2010.

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