IIT Stuart School of Business and Toyota U.S.A. Foundation Introduce Academy for Future Leaders in Science and Technology
Largest grant in IIT Stuart history helps launch academy
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Stuart School of Business’ Center for Strategic Competitiveness, in cooperation with the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation, today announced the establishment of the Academy for Future Leaders in Science and Technology.
During the summer of 2008, IIT received a $500,000, three-year grant from the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation to support the academy, which invites talented, but often underserved high school students, aged 16-18, from the Chicago metropolitan area, to attend a summer-long science and technology education and internship experience, focused environmental science and management, at the IIT campus.
Representatives from IIT, including President John Anderson, Stuart Dean Harvey Kahalas, Stuart Associate Dean and academy co-director Tom Anderson, co-director Marie Vanderford and Stuart Board of Overseers Chair Rosemarie Mitchell, discussed the academy along with Toyota Motor Sales, USA Senior Vice President of Automotive Operations Don Esmond, an IIT alumnus.
“It is a great honor for IIT Stuart to have received such a generous grant from the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation, which will enrich the education of our future leaders in the emerging field of environmental sciences and management,” said IIT Stuart School of Business Dean Harvey Kahalas. “We look forward not only to the growth of the academy, but to the future expansion and replication of the program in other communities across the nation.”
Students will attend the Academy for Future Leaders in Science and Technology from Monday, June 15, until Friday, August 14. During that time, they will participate in a rich curriculum of coursework, professional internships, individual mentoring and guest lectures related to environmental science and management. In its first year, the academy works to enhance the potential of students to learn about science and technology and help them advance through high school and into post-secondary education. In addition to building their science skills, the academy will prepare students to become environmental stewards and leaders involved in making important decisions that will help protect the environment for future generations.
The grant from the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation lays the foundation for launching the Academy and IIT hopes that this will be a catalyst for additional public and private investment, helping to establish the Academy as a model program for other schools and universities, and expanding its reach to hundreds more students each summer. Stuart Associate Dean and academy co-director Anderson will play an integral role in this effort.
The Toyota USA Foundation is a $100 million charitable endowment created to support education programs serving kindergarten through 12th grade students and their teachers in the United States, with an emphasis on mathematics, science and environmental science. For additional information about the Toyota USA Foundation, visit www.toyota.com/foundation.
Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 7,300 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment. Visit www.iit.edu.
