HOUGHTON – The General Motors Foundation has given Michigan Technological University a $100,000 grant through its University/Organization Partner Program to 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.
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 (STEM) 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,? said MTU President Glenn Mroz. ?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 student’s 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 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.?
