FLINT ? Students and faculty members at Kettering University will have new opportunities to travel to study technology in Europe through a $1 million gift announced Monday by the former General Motors Institute.
The gift will support the exchange of faculty and students to applied science universities in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, which Scientific American magazine called The Technology Heart of Europe. Kettering is the top American university for exchanging students in Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The $1 million gift is from alumnus and Kettering Trustee Robert Oswald (?64), and his wife, Marcy, of Bloomfield Hills.
?Marcy and I wanted to do something for Kettering,? Oswald said. ?The academic and work preparations I received as a student was significant, so we decided we wanted to give something back. Providing opportunities for enhanced global experiences resonated with both of us.?
The Oswald Endowment for International Student and Faculty Exchange will:
Increase the number of Kettering students who can study abroad and work in international co-op jobs
Encourage the exchange of faculty members with international universities
Ensure the continuing quality of the international exchange program
Enhance a Kettering education with global experience
?There are two or three things we?d especially like to see happen,? Oswald said. ?We want to make sure that Kettering?s international exchange program continues, that?s why we are offering help to students who may need an assist. We?d also like to encourage the development of job assignments on both sides ? U.S. jobs and foreign jobs. Additionally, we hope to encourage faculty members to be engaged in international programs.?
A 1964 graduate of Kettering/GMI, Oswald is noted for his leadership within the automotive industry. He began his career as a co-op student with General Motors, but left GM shortly after graduation. He spent 18 years at the Ford Motor Co., and then six years with Cummins in Columbus, Ind. Much of his own international business experience came during his 12 years with the Robert Bosch Corp., the North American (NA) subsidiary of the Stuttgart, Germany, based Robert Bosch GmbH. Oswald was chairman, president, and CEO of the NA operations, and a member of the Bosch Board of Management. He retired from Bosch in 2001.
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