Back to basics: Richard Hansen champions industrial engineering's core values with new gift

Richard and Mary Kay Hansen pledge a transformative gift to the University of Washington Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (UW ISE) as they help position the department's success into the future. This new gift, an estate gift intention of $4.5 million, will establish the first endowed chair in ISE. Endowed chairs are a form of academic recognition and are considered one of the highest honors a professor can receive. A chair can attract and retain top faculty and is structured to give recipients independence in pursuing research and teaching that emphasizes core industrial engineering principles.

For Richard Hansen, the fundamentals of industrial engineering are timeless. While today's students might be drawn to high-tech robotics and computer systems, Hansen believes the field's historic roots in human-centered efficiency still hold the key to future innovations. It's this conviction that drives his and wife Mary Kay's latest gift to ISE.

His passion for these principles was shaped early in his career, when he and his then-wife Cheryl Lewis pioneered innovative applications of punch-card systems - he at Boeing, she at Pacific Northwest Bell. Their parallel innovations earned Hansen the Industrial Engineering Breakthrough of the Year award for his automated operating plan development at Boeing.

"When you strip away all the technology, it's still people doing the work," Hansen reflects, his eyes lighting up as he discusses the field's pioneers. He frequently references Frederick Taylor, Henry Ford, and particularly Frank and Lillian Gilbreth – whose groundbreaking time and motion studies proved that worker wellbeing directly impacts productivity. "The Gilbreths showed us that when workers are happy, healthy, and safe, they can do things faster, cheaper, and better," Hansen explains, channeling the enthusiasm of someone discovering these insights for the first time rather than having applied these guiding principles over a lifetime in industry.

Reflecting on his 35-year career in aviation and aerospace, Hansen's influence spans nearly every major Boeing commercial aircraft development since the 1960s. From the early 707 and 727 programs in Renton to the mammoth 747, 767, and 777 projects in Everett, and even the innovative 787 program in North Charleston, SC, his industrial engineering expertise shaped how these aircraft were built. As director of industrial engineering for twin-aisle programs at Boeing, Hansen attributes his success to a holistic approach combining continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and team development, all while balancing the critical elements of quality, cost, schedule, safety, and employee morale.

Hansen's commitment to advancing the field extended well beyond Boeing. For two decades, he represented the company at the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, where his peers - 40,000 global practitioners - selected him as their President in 1997. His contributions to the profession were further recognized when he became an elected FELLOW of the institute in 2002.

This human-centered approach extends to his vision for government operations, where he sees opportunities to enhance service delivery through careful process analysis. "It's about doing more with what we have," Hansen explains. "When you study movements and methods, you often find ways to both improve efficiency and enhance service quality."

A longtime friend and supporter of the department, Hansen's pledge will build on his previous contributions, including chairing ISE's "Creating Futures" drive that had raised $150,000 for student scholarships. His commitment stems from a desire to ensure future industrial engineers understand both technological innovations and timeless human factors.

Hansen's enthusiasm for the field's history is infectious – he once created a bumper sticker reading "Engineers design things. Industrial Engineers make them better." But it's his focus on the future that drives his giving. "It's about creating a legacy that sustains the department for the next century," he says. "We need to prepare students for future teams while keeping sight of our fundamental principles. UW's ISE department is hands-down the place where my investment in faculty will have the highest return and deliver tomorrow's best-prepared industrial engineers to the market."

"Rich Hansen embodies the spirit of industrial engineering – innovation rooted in human potential," says ISE Department Chair Juming Tang. "His transformative gift doesn't just support our faculty; it reinforces the core philosophy that has always made industrial engineering a powerful catalyst for positive change. We are profoundly grateful for Rich and Mary Kay's continued commitment to our department and to the future of our field."

For this philanthropist who started as a "box boy" at Safeway and rose to the highest levels of industrial engineering, it all comes down to people – their movements, their comfort, their efficiency, and ultimately, their success. Through his generous gift, Rich Hansen is ensuring that future generations of industrial engineers will carry forward this human-centered legacy of continuous improvement.