UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- General Motors has given Penn State a $100,000 grant to support various educational initiatives in the College of Engineering.
The grant check, which was formally presented at last week's Engineering Project Design Showcase, will help fund diversity initiatives, student organizations, job skills and project efforts as well as curriculum development and academic advancement.
"It goes without saying that education is essential to the future of the engineering field, and to the future of the automotive industry," said Cathy Clegg, GM's executive champion for Penn State, to showcase attendees. "It's important to encourage students to pursue the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), particularly engineering. If they don't choose those paths, we'll have a skills shortage that will undermine our nation’s resurgence in smart manufacturing."
Within diversity, the grant will support the Office of Engineering Diversity, and the Women in Science and Engineering Interest House.
Student organizations benefiting from the GM grant include the Formula Society of Automotive Engineering Program, the Engineering Orientation Network, the GM Foundation Professional Student Activity Fund and the three engineering-related interest houses — the Engineering and Applied Science Interest House, Engineering House, and the First-Year in Science and Engineering House.
Job skills and project efforts supported by the grant include the Graduate Automotive Technology Education Program, the Learning Factory student design experience and the EcoCAR 2: Plugging Into the Future automotive team.
Within curriculum development and academic advancement, the GM grant money will support the Center for Sustainability and the Engineering Ambassadors program.