HOUGHTON — The General Motors Foundation has given Michigan Technological University a $100,000 grant through its University/Organization Partner Program.
MTU officials say the gift will support a variety of student activities,
including the Advanced Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Advanced
Motorsports Enterprises, Environmental Engineering senior design
programs, student groups and diversity initiatives.
Steve Tomaszewski, GM’s global facilities director of operations
North America, presented a check to President Glenn Mroz at a
ceremony last week at the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne
Opie Library.
“The GM Foundation grant is symbolic of our dedication to the next
generation of leaders and innovators,” said Tomaszewski. “By
supporting higher education programs, we’re ensuring these students receive the necessary knowledge and skills to compete in a global marketplace.”
Through the University/Organization Partner Program, the GM
Foundation annually grants $3 million to support leading universities and partnering organizations across the country. The program aims to strengthen higher education curricula in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and other fields important to the automotive industry, with a goal of preparing more students to graduate with related degrees. The funds also support design and manufacturing degree programs, diversity initiatives, student organizations, and career development resources.
“Year after year, the GM Foundation has supported our students in
hands-on projects and collaborative work,” Mroz said. “These are key to students expanding their knowledge and developing their skills both in and out of the classroom. Student work on projects like these are the reasons why our students’ resumes move to the top of the pile and why their starting salaries are among the highest in the nation for public universities. It’s visionaries like the GM Foundation who know that their help guides the future of higher education, and we are grateful for their support.”
A significant portion of the GM Foundation grant goes to support
diversity programming on campus.
“Michigan Tech appreciates the GM Foundation’s dedication to
diversity and their commitment to helping us implement programming that helps women and minorities to excel as leaders,” said Jill Hodges, director of the university’s Office of Institutional Equity. “It is a critical component through which educational opportunities abound. It is through engaging with diversity that we gain a better understanding of the world around us, which then has potential to increase creativity, agility and global understandings and to develop new solutions to difficult problems.”
Michigan Tech, General Motors and the GM Foundation have had a
long-standing partnership dating back to at least 1940, supporting a
wide range of activities across campus including scholarships, Senior
Design and Enterprise programs, student organizations, sponsored
research, recruiting support, youth programs, diversity initiatives and more.
More about the GM Foundation at www.gm.com/gmfoundation. More about Michigan Tech at www.mtu.edu.