Steve McShane ’66 has had a lengthy career as an inventor and entrepreneur with business interests across the globe.
His recent gift to the College of Engineering & Science will create a space he hopes will encourage students to learn and create with an eye toward entrepreneurship as well.
Born and raised in a working-class family on the east side of Detroit, McShane grew fascinated by electronics, especially his ham radio. When it came time to choose a college, the choice was University of Detroit, hands down.
“I was encouraged to apply to U of D because of their reputation and their co-op program, which was going to help me pay the expenses,” he said. “And I was raised Catholic, so it seemed natural.”
He loved the school, which he said offered a good balance of technological and ethical education along with strong academics.
“It was often a struggle for me the first couple of years,” he said. “I was working full time and in school full time.”
It paid off, he said, and he was offered a job in a competitor of the company at which he did his engineering co-op. He earned an MBA from the University of Michigan and then was recruited by Motorola, doing something much more in his field of interest, and in five years was promoted to a national position.
After a short stint working with a power company, McShane had his eyes on something else.
“I was interested in experimenting with business challenges and the idea of establishing a business within a business,” he said. In 1984, he founded Midtronics, originally as the exclusive parts distributor for Motorola’s radio and electrical parts business.
He also acquired a piece of technology Motorola had that could passively test the charge of lead-acid batteries, something that had not been possible before.
“They had the technology, but they weren’t commercializing it,” he said. He built Midtronics around that technology, worked to improve and update it and within 10 years the new product became the standard in the auto industry.
Over the years he has developed other products and services — bringing him 10 U.S. patents — to the world’s top automotive, telecommunications and electric power providers. At 81, he is still active with Midtronics, and is grateful for the career he has had.
He credits University of Detroit for his success, which is why he and Kathy, his wife of 46 years, made a substantial donation to help the College of Engineering & Science create The Steve & Kathy McShane Engineering Maker Space & Collaboratory. It will be in the space formerly known as the Annex directly next to the Engineering Building.
“The reason for my gift is gratitude for the success I’ve had, and University of Detroit played a role the technical expertise and the values that given me the fortitude to create a business,” he said.
Dean of the College of Engineering & Science Katherine Snyder, ’89, ’93 said the maker space will be a hub where all students will be welcomed to work together and have the required machinery and tools in one space under expert guidance.
“We are so grateful for the support of the McShanes and other alumni who made it possible to transform the Engineering Annex into this inspirational space,” Snyder said. “It will be a workshop for students from different disciplines to collaborate and share ideas as they work on projects, competition teams and product refinement with an eye toward commercialization.”
McShane is inspired by the potential of the space and the impact it will have on students today and for years to come.
“This will give students a place to study and learn and make real-life applications of technology,” he said. “They will be able to take ideas and create prototypes and products, which brings an entrepreneurial aspect to engineering. That’s what’s important, I think.”
“I’ve been pretty lucky,” he says of his career. This gift is, he says, a way of establishing a legacy at the place it all started.
“University of Detroit Mercy seems to be attracting young people like I was, from the city and suburbs, interested in technology,” he said. “And I want this to be a place where they can create things that will add value to the world.”
