Edison Venture Fund Awards Rowan University Foundation $326,000
Edison Venture Fund Awards Rowan University Foundation $326,000
January 24, 2006
Grant Supports Engineering Program For Teachers
The Edison Venture Fund awarded a $326,000 grant to the Rowan University Foundation to increase knowledge of engineering among middle school teachers.
The three-year grant will support ?Engineering Clinics for Teachers: The Rowan ECT Program,? a collaboration of the Colleges of Engineering and Education to help middle school teachers integrate engineering content into their existing curricula.
Through hands-on engineering activities, curriculum assessment and site visits, ECT will make engineering more relevant to middle school educators, provide exposure to engineering careers and support teachers and students in exploring and understanding engineering content in K-12 education. ECT is slated to begin this summer with a residential workshop.
The program will be based on Rowan?s innovative Engineering Clinic model. A hallmark of the College of Engineering, the clinic program offers multidisciplinary groups opportunities to solve real-world problems by employing innovative, creative measures in hands-on, team-based approaches.
?Various studies indicate the United States is lagging behind other developed countries in technology,? said ECT Director Dr. Kauser Jahan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. ?We need to evolve a new vision for the education of engineers to keep this country at the forefront of technology. Our goal is for Engineering Clinics for Teachers to serve as a model for educating teachers who will support students considering the engineering field.?
?Rowan?s ECT program will attract hundreds of teachers who will influence thousands of students to consider engineering as a career field,? said John Martinson, Edison managing partner.
Headquartered in Lawrenceville, Edison Venture Fund forges partnerships with entrepreneurs, service providers and other financing sources to support building successful companies. The organization invests in expansion-stage ($5 to 20 million revenue) information technology companies located in New Jersey and surrounding states. Since 1986, Edison's portfolio companies have created market capitalization surpassing $5 billion.
Edison has made more investments in the Mid-Atlantic region than any other private equity firm. Edison sponsors many entrepreneurial, venture and technology programs throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
With a total market value of more than $150 million, the Rowan University Foundation is one of the top foundations of its kind in the country. Leveraging the opportunity presented by its record-breaking 1992 gift of $100 million from Henry and Betty Rowan, the Foundation significantly exceeded the goal of its first capital campaign and raised $26 million in gifts and pledges in fiscal year 2005.
?The commitment of donors like Edison Venture Fund has enabled Rowan University to become the highly ranked institution it is today,? said Dr. Philip A. Tumminia, executive director of the Rowan University Foundation.
For more information on this new Rowan initiative, contact Dr. Jahan at (856) 256-5323.
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The Edison Venture Fund awarded a $326,000 grant to the Rowan University Foundation to increase knowledge of engineering among middle school teachers.
The three-year grant will support ?Engineering Clinics for Teachers: The Rowan ECT Program,? a collaboration of the Colleges of Engineering and Education to help middle school teachers integrate engineering content into their existing curricula.
Through hands-on engineering activities, curriculum assessment and site visits, ECT will make engineering more relevant to middle school educators, provide exposure to engineering careers and support teachers and students in exploring and understanding engineering content in K-12 education. ECT is slated to begin this summer with a residential workshop.
The program will be based on Rowan?s innovative Engineering Clinic model. A hallmark of the College of Engineering, the clinic program offers multidisciplinary groups opportunities to solve real-world problems by employing innovative, creative measures in hands-on, team-based approaches.
?Various studies indicate the United States is lagging behind other developed countries in technology,? said ECT Director Dr. Kauser Jahan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. ?We need to evolve a new vision for the education of engineers to keep this country at the forefront of technology. Our goal is for Engineering Clinics for Teachers to serve as a model for educating teachers who will support students considering the engineering field.?
?Rowan?s ECT program will attract hundreds of teachers who will influence thousands of students to consider engineering as a career field,? said John Martinson, Edison managing partner.
Headquartered in Lawrenceville, Edison Venture Fund forges partnerships with entrepreneurs, service providers and other financing sources to support building successful companies. The organization invests in expansion-stage ($5 to 20 million revenue) information technology companies located in New Jersey and surrounding states. Since 1986, Edison's portfolio companies have created market capitalization surpassing $5 billion.
Edison has made more investments in the Mid-Atlantic region than any other private equity firm. Edison sponsors many entrepreneurial, venture and technology programs throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
With a total market value of more than $150 million, the Rowan University Foundation is one of the top foundations of its kind in the country. Leveraging the opportunity presented by its record-breaking 1992 gift of $100 million from Henry and Betty Rowan, the Foundation significantly exceeded the goal of its first capital campaign and raised $26 million in gifts and pledges in fiscal year 2005.
?The commitment of donors like Edison Venture Fund has enabled Rowan University to become the highly ranked institution it is today,? said Dr. Philip A. Tumminia, executive director of the Rowan University Foundation.
For more information on this new Rowan initiative, contact Dr. Jahan at (856) 256-5323.
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