Pathways to Partnership A Message from Penn State’s President Today’s economy is more global and diversified than ever before, but top companies all share one thing: a commitment to the future. They’re looking ahead, building the workforce, technology, and markets that will sustain their growth for years to come. Across all industries, business leaders are turning to a common resource: higher education. And each year, thousands of companies choose Penn State as their partner in research, recruitment, employee education, and philanthropy. Each year, Penn State graduates more than 17,000 students. Faculty members at twenty-four campuses are sharing their expertise with these future members of the workforce, as well as working with each other across disciplines on the research that will solve tomorrow’s problems. Within Penn State’s vast range of resources, every business can find opportunities for enhancing its own success. This brochure has been designed to give you a sense of the breadth and depth of the resources available to businesses of all kinds. You’ll find an overview of the Penn State offices dedicated to corporate relationships, and we’ve included the perspectives of some of the companies that have devel- oped their own unique partnerships with the University. I invite you to consider how Penn State can be part of your company’s future. Our Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations will work with you to find the resources and people that best meet your needs. I believe that you’ll discover, as our other partners have, that an investment in Penn State yields extraordinary returns. Sincerely, Graham B. Spanier President, The Pennsylvania State University Student Recruiting Research Executive and Professional Education Technology Transfer Classroom Collaborations Sponsorships 1 Student Each year, more than 17,000 students graduate from Penn State with degrees Recruiting in more than 160 majors. These students have not only learned about their fields from top experts, they have also learned about the discipline, focus, and work ethic needed to succeed at a top public university like Penn State—and at a company like yours. Hundreds of companies have tapped into Penn State’s talent pool with recruitment efforts ranging from career fairs to special com- pany-hosted events to interviews held on campus. We even have a Web site where you can post specific job listings and view the résumés of our students and graduates. The MBNA Career Services Center is staffed with professionals who can work with you to plan your recruitment strategy at Penn State. Above: The Career Fair at Penn State offers corporate representatives the chance to interact with a large pool of students seeking employment opportunities. For more information about the Career Fair, go to: www.sa.psu.edu/career/employer.shtml. 2 Fast Facts about Penn State “Currently, Penn State is our number one school for recruiting, and there are great people in electrical engineering, computer science, business—fields across the University. These graduates are well-rounded in addition to being technically competent, and they’re able to be a Penn State is productive part of a team in a complex environment.” the single largest contributor to Dr. Stan Sloane, Executive Vice President Pennsylvania’s Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions economy—$6.14 In 2005 Lockheed Martin was named Penn State’s Corporate Partner of the Year in recognition of the company’s long history billion annually of support for the University’s students and programs. in direct net economic impact. Founded in 1855 Strength in Diversity: It Begins at Penn State About 500,000 Business has come to count on Penn State for leadership in developing the living graduates educational and support programs that will ensure a diverse workforce in the future. For example, the Smeal College of Business has begun hosting annual Diversity 81,000+ annual enrollment in all Appreciation Weekends, which provide opportunities for current students to programs network with alumni. The College of Engineering offers a peer-mentoring program to improve retention of students from underrepresented groups. The College of 13,376 bachelor’s Information Sciences and Technology recently created an office dedicated to issues degrees awarded of equity and diversity. Thanks to these and other programs, Penn State has in 2004–2005 increased its minority enrollment every year for the past twelve years. For compa- 24 campuses nies interested in recruitment, this means an increasing pool of highly qualified candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. 160 baccalaureate and 140 graduate For more information about Penn State’s commitment to diversity, visit degrees offered www.equity.psu.edu. Largest outreach effort in American higher education, with participants in all 50 states and more than 87 countries About 800 employers and nearly 20,000 students annually take part in on- campus recruiting at Penn State. 3 Research “As we move forward as a company, we don’t want to work on our most challenging technology problems all by ourselves. The mutual benefits of having academic researchers address our projects are that they get to deal with issues that have immediate real-world impact, and we get to see how innovative someone outside of industry can be.” Dr. John Tao, Corporate Director of Technology Partnerships Air Products Below: Frank Pugh, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, holds a glass slide with a DNA microarray that has been magnified for use as the image background. As one of the nation’s top two institutions (both public and private) in Research expenditures in industry-sponsored research, Penn State works with more than 1,000 2004–2005: companies every year to find solutions that affect the bottom line. Whether $638 million you need to access cutting-edge science, streamline your production process, Jobs supported: or enhance your business practices, our faculty members have the expertise more than 16,000 and experience to help. The Industrial Research Office can find the right Top institutions in industry-sponsored programs and faculty partners for your company’s research needs. It can also research: 2nd help with the complex legal issues surrounding intellectual property. An in- Rank among all house contract negotiator is available, and Penn State has established a U.S. universities in research and master agreement model that is now used by universities nationwide. The development Industrial Research Office will be there throughout your relationship with expenditures: 9th Penn State, putting you in touch with new resources as your company’s needs Materials research change. For more information about the Industrial Research Office, go to expenditures: 1st www.techtransfer.psu.edu/iro. Average number of companies engaged in research with the Reaching Out for Excellence: Interdisciplinary Research at Penn State University each year: more than In today’s business world, old boundaries are breaking down. The latest advances 1,000 require thinking beyond traditional divisions between skills and specialties. The following interdisciplinary areas at Penn State are a few examples of the many ways in which our researchers are reaching out to each other to achieve important strides in science and industry. Applied Research Laboratory Established at Penn State by the U.S. Navy in 1945, the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) has maintained a special relationship with the Department of Defense while broadening its work to include collaboration with a wide range of industries and other areas of government. www.arl.psu.edu Materials Research Institute The Materials Research Institute draws together faculty from the Colleges of Engineering and Earth and Mineral Sciences, the Eberly College of Science, and the Applied Research Laboratory into a program that is ranked first in the nation. www.mri.psu.edu Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences boasts state-of-the-art facilities in mass spectrometry, DNA microarray, and electron microscopy, among others. These resources are available to researchers across the University who are working in the life sciences. www.lsc.psu.edu 5 Executive and “We need to work with the best Professional Education people in the field, and that’s why we’ve developed such a strong relationship with Penn State. These programs are helping us to enhance the responsiveness and flexibility of our supply chain, even as we face new challenges. It’s about leading the competition, and Penn State has become an essential part of our strategy.” Robert Moffat, Senior Vice President of Integrated Operations IBM Below: Juan Johnson, a vice president at The Coca Cola Company and president of the Diversity Leadership Academy, leads a course in strategic diversity management for Smeal College of Business. Welcome to the World Campus The world is changing—and it’s changing fast. In nearly any profes- sion, lifelong learning is the key to career advancement and employee retention. To keep pace, more working adults are going back to school than ever before. Yet many people cannot take time away from jobs and family to attend on-campus classes. That’s why Penn State created the online World Campus—a university without walls. The World If you stop learning, you’ll be left behind in the fast-paced Campus offers a convenient, flexible, and interactive learning community world of business and industry. Thousands of executives and to people in the global workforce. professionals have enhanced their skills and knowledge Courses are primarily technology- based and delivered via multiple through Penn State’s education programs in business, engi- media, including the World Wide neering, and more. Web. The World Campus draws on the expertise of renowned faculty, Penn State Outreach provides a portal through which corpo- offers support resources including advising, access to the University rations can link to academic expertise and professional Libraries, and technical support, and programming online, on-site, or on campus.