Toshiba/Westinghouse’s gift of $2 million to Penn State this month creates a strategic link from the threads of an old school tie.
As a contribution of $500,000 in each of the next four years, the donation will support programs that help the Pittsburgh-based supplier of nuclear power technology tap into an open source of advanced academic research and business planning through Penn’s Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering (College of Engineering) and the Smeal College of Business.
As underwriting for a long-term relationship, the gift recognizes connections that have existed between the two organizations for years. That relationship has the potential to become more important in the years ahead, as Westinghouse builds nuclear power systems throughout the world.
According to Rebecca Mills, Penn’s Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, the project was in the works for at least two years before its announcement last Wednesday. Westinghouse Electric’s Rick Etling, VP, Strategy, and Penn State Nuclear Engineering alum, laid the groundwork for the company. He also volunteered on the engineering college’s industry advisory board. That work helped him to develop the project with Penn’s Jack Brenizer, program chair for nuclear engineering. Their partnership helped to set the stage for the company’s investment.
The deal got its first important go-ahead a year-and-a-half ago, when Penn State President Graham Spanier spent a day at Westinghouse Electric Co. with then-CEO Steve Tritch. There the two leaders had a good look at a relationship that brings a lot of talent into the company. Westinghouse recruited 28 percent of its new professionals last year from Penn State.
At a time when state school budgets will almost certainly be tightening, the infusion will seed research that could lead to bigger grants. It will also provide for graduate fellowships and equipment purchases. Westinghouse executives will also be learning more about state-of-the-art business practices through the Smeal College’s Center for Supply-Chain Research and Institute for the Study of Business.
“This is a very significant grant for Westinghouse to make such a commitment all at once,” Mills says.
Source: Penn State, Rebecca Mills, Michael Bezilla
Writer: Joseph Plummer
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