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CEET teams with Navistar for scholars program

November 28, 2012
Todd Burns

Todd Burns

The College of Engineering and Engineering Technology’s Corporate Scholars program gives companies the opportunity to have an impact on the NIU campus.

Partnering corporations help prime NIU students to fill engineering positions as interns or full time positions after graduation.

“The Corporate Scholars program is a wonderful opportunity to pair the best and brightest students with corporations who are interested in assisting our students and hiring our graduates,” said Todd Burns, director of Development and Donor Relations for CEET.

Companies pledge $10,000 for each sponsored student over a four-year period. Each student in the program receives a $2,000 scholarship to help pay for their education. In return, the sponsored student engages in paid internships and acts as an ambassador for the sponsoring corporation throughout the year.

Navistar, Inc., a global truck and engine manufacturing company, is the first corporation to partner with CEET through the Corporate Scholars program.

“I commend Navistar for stepping up to be our first official Corporate Scholars donor,” Burns said. “Our relationship with them has grown over the years, and this was the next natural step in their investment at NIU.”

Logo of Navistar®John McCuistion, chief engineer at Navistar, Inc., said “the partnership between academia and industry is important and especially so in engineering and technical product development.

“First and foremost, it can be a mutually beneficial and collaborative relationship that, by its nature is driven by innovation,” McCuistion added. “Moreover, in order to succeed in today’s challenging marketplace, a drive for innovation is a necessity as well as positive partnering with like-minded institutions that want to create that ‘win-win’ situation.”

The program provides financial assistance to the brightest students, targeting those with high GPAs and ACT scores. The program aims to give students real-world experience and to allow corporations access to a talented pool of students for recruitment purposes.

For more information, contact Burns at (815) 753-1910 or tburns@niu.edu.