Administration

United Technologies Corp. honored as Corporate Partner of the Year

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State honored United Technologies Corp. (UTC) as its Corporate Partner of the Year at an event Nov. 14. University President Eric J. Barron presented the award to UTC in celebration of the company’s multifaceted relationship with the University, including a long history of philanthropy.

“UTC’s employees are driven by a shared commitment to innovation, life-long learning, collaboration and diversity of thought,” said Barron. “These same values guide our work at Penn State, which is why the partnership between our two organizations has been so fruitful.”

UTC is one of the top aerospace companies in the world, with more than 212,000 employees and operations in more than 180 countries. Headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, UTC provides high-technology products and services to the global aerospace and building systems industries, serving both commercial and military customers. Penn State has partnered closely with the Pratt & Whitney division of the company, which designs and manufactures aircraft engines.

In the course of its partnership with Penn State, Pratt & Whitney and UTC have invested more than $17.8 million in philanthropy and research support combined, with more than $6.5 million representing gifts to the University. The UTC/Penn State partnership has impacted student programs, facilities, outreach efforts and research projects in the Applied Research Laboratory, the Materials Research Institute and academic departments across the College of Engineering.

“UTC has been an extraordinary partner to Penn State,” said Karen Thole, head of the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Penn State. “The contributions they have made in the areas of research, teaching and outreach have put UTC in an elite class of companies who are deeply and meaningfully engaged with Penn State and our students.”

“We are proud of our partnership with Penn State and honored to receive this prestigious award,” said Tom Prete, vice president of engineering at Pratt & Whitney, who accepted the award on behalf of UTC. “The corporation has a rich history built on innovation. Our technologies are redefining the industries we operate in and are made possible with world-class talent and research. Our relationship with Penn State gives us access to both and provides extraordinary research and internship opportunities to the University.”

UTC’s gifts and investments have made possible such Penn State programs as the Experimental and Computational Convection Lab (ExCCL) and the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) laboratory, both in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering. As the most advanced turbine testing facility in the country, the START lab is allowing Penn State researchers to focus on improving gas turbine efficiency.

The UTC/Penn State partnership has also enhanced student learning and outreach in the College of Engineering. The company’s gifts have benefited the Learning Factory as well as the Engineering Ambassadors program. In addition, company representatives have served on the Advisory Council in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering since 2007, helping to ensure that the department’s curriculum reflects the latest industry developments. Penn State and UTC have also built a strong recruiting relationship. According to the University’s alumni database, there are more than 250 Penn State graduates working for UTC, with the majority being at Pratt & Whitney.

Former Penn State Corporate Partners of the Year include General Electric, Chevron, Toshiba/Westinghouse, Dow Chemical, Boeing, Highmark, PNC, Barnes and Noble, Lockheed Martin and Bank of America.

These corporations and others are invaluable partners in fulfilling the University's land-grant mission of education, research and service. Private gifts from alumni and friends enrich the experiences of students both in and out of the classroom; expand the research and teaching capacity of faculty; enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain top students and faculty; and help to ensure that students from every economic background have access to a Penn State education. The University's colleges and campuses are now enlisting the support of alumni and friends to advance a range of unit-specific initiatives.

Last Updated November 19, 2014

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