20 20 ANNUAL
REPORT FOUNDATION FOR THE
FUTURE
smeef.org
The SME Education Foundation continued its transformation in 2020. Despite the many challenges posed by COVID-19, the Foundation capitalized on program and operational enhancements from the previous year to expand and improve execution of its mission: inspiring, preparing and supporting the next generation of manufacturing and engineering talent. The Foundation developed and launched a new diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative, focused on improving race and gender parity within its SME PRIME® (Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education) and Scholarship programs. Diversity, equity and inclusion is a core tenet of the Foundation’s new five-year strategic plan, developed in 2020, which identifies a range of tightly aligned priorities to accomplish by 2025. The Foundation also elected 10 new members to its board of directors; their terms began Jan. 1, 2021. Programmatically, the Foundation fully funded two new SME PRIME programs in San Angelo, Texas, and Racine, Wisconsin, and distributed nearly $2 million in equipment, curriculum and related offerings to the existing PRIME school network — which now stands at 62 schools across 22 states. Additionally, the scholarship program awarded $707,000 in scholarships to 358 students from 41 different states. Joseph A. “Joe” Kann Board of Directors President
Rob Luce Foundation Vice President
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Perhaps no trial was as personally wearing as the unexpected passing of longstanding Foundation board member and 2020 president, Irving P. McPhail, EdD. McPhail was a friend of SME and a significant contributor to the SME Education Foundation. He dedicated his life to higher education and was a leading voice in the necessity to expand educational opportunities to disadvantaged communities. His influence over the Foundation’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative was great, and has been memorialized by the establishment of a new DEI scholarship bearing his name. As the pandemic wanes, the future of the Foundation is increasingly bright. We are singularly focused on the impact of what we do and the efficiency with which we do it. We welcome your participation and trust you will enjoy reading about our accomplishments last year.
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2020 Foundation Governance
The SME Education Foundation Board of Directors is the governing body of the Foundation. This diverse, talented board is composed of proven and accomplished professionals from industry and academia, as well as community leaders.
Foundation Officers President Irving P. “Irv” McPhail, EdD Principal The McPhail Group LLC
Foundation Directors Frank W. Ervin III
Group Vice President, Government Affairs Piston Group LLC
Vice President Joseph A. “Joe” Kann
Wayne F. Frost, LSME, CMfgE
Secretary/Treasurer John F. Miller
Brian A. Ruestow, LSME
President Cobble Creek Solutions
Senior Vice President Siemens PLM Software
Senior Engineer Deere & Co. (retired)
Sales Director – Americas Norton Pulpstones Inc.
THANK YOU Pamela J. Ruschau, Esq.
Intellectual Property Attorney Leydig, Voit & Mayer Ltd.
Outgoing Foundation Board Members
Thank you to our outgoing Foundation board members, Brian Ruestow and Pamela Ruschau, who
collectively served the Foundation for more than 31 years. Ruestow served as president of the
board of directors for four years, was a member of 10 different committees over the course of his tenure, and served as committee chair on three separate occasions. Ruschau, the Foundation’s
longest-serving member, also served on 10 committees during her board tenure, chairing four of them. The Foundation is grateful for their commitment and many contributions over the years, and we wish them well in their future endeavors. They will be greatly missed.
Tribute to
Irving P. McPhail
SME and the SME Education Foundation are mourning the death of Irving P. McPhail, EdD, 2020 president of the Foundation’s board of directors. During his career, McPhail made outstanding and unforgettable contributions to the advancement of manufacturing and education. His service to the SME Education Foundation was marked by a great passion for manufacturing education, a deep commitment to broadening industry opportunities for all communities, and a sincere belief in the Foundation’s mission to inspire and support talented young people from all backgrounds.
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New 2021 SME Education Foundation Directors One of the Foundation’s most significant accomplishments in 2020 was the election of 10 new board members, who started their terms in January 2021. We welcome all of our board members and look forward to a productive year.
Adam Claytor
Chris Rake
Valerie I. Freeman
Kyle Riegel
Andrew M. “Andy” Jones
Joseph A. “Joe” Tate
Robby Komljenovic
Marion Wells
Arthur F. McClellan Jr.
Meghan West President and CEO
President and CEO Coltrane Logistics
Manufacturing and Robotics Teacher Washington Park High School
Portfolio Manager Seizert Capital Partners
Chairman and CEO Acieta
Director of Supplier Diversity and Development Lear Corp.
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Vice President of Programs FIRST
Field Sales Engineer Schunk Carbon Technology
Second District Representative Michigan House of Representatives
Founder Human Asset Management
CNC Software Inc.
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OVERVIEW Overview
As the philanthropic arm of SME, an internationally recognized nonprofit organization serving the manufacturing industry, the SME Education Foundation inspires, prepares and supports the next generation of manufacturing and engineering talent.
The Foundation leverages SME’s 90-year history and thought leadership in the manufacturing and engineering industry to provide curated experiences for thousands of high school students at SME conferences and trade shows, build hands-on manufacturing programs in high schools across the country, and award millions of dollars in scholarships every year to graduating high school seniors and college students. All Foundation programming is designed to expose students to industry, provide relevant in-demand instruction, and empower the pursuit of careers in manufacturing and engineering.
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative A signature accomplishment in 2020, the SME Education Foundation’s new diversity, equity and inclusion initiative is designed to fully integrate opportunities for underrepresented communities in every program and effort. Currently, only 21% of engineering bachelor’s degree recipients are women, while minorities account for just 12.5%. Similarly, in industry, women represent just 29% of the manufacturing workforce while minorities account for only 20%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. In keeping with its charitable mission, the SME Education Foundation desires to support diversity, equity and inclusion as compelling components in fostering a manufacturing and engineering workforce that derives educational and societal benefits from varied experiences, opinions, backgrounds and cultures.
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Scholarships GOAL
Increase diversity and inclusion within the Foundation’s scholarship program by 2025.
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Applicants To increase minority and female application rates, the Foundation will expand outreach efforts to underrepresented communities, and work to establish promotional partnerships with colleges and universities as well as inclusive trade associations and student organizations.
Awardees In 2020, the Foundation announced a new $2 million diversity, equity and inclusion scholarship intended to significantly expand postsecondary education opportunities to minority and female students. Named for the late SME Education Foundation Board President Irving P. McPhail, this scholarship is part of a broader $4 million effort to increase awards to students who are underrepresented in STEM education. Seeded by the Foundation’s board of directors with an initial sum of $2 million, the Irving P. McPhail Scholarship is the catalyst for a new $2 million fundraising effort intended to further endow the Foundation’s diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships.
SME PRIME
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GOAL
Board Governance GOAL
Increase the percentage of minority and female students served by SME PRIME to 50% and 35%, respectively.
Support diversity, equity, and inclusion in the nomination and election of Foundation board members.
Beginning in 2021, PRIME will focus future program growth in underrepresented and marginalized communities where the impact is most meaningful. As part of that effort, PRIME will prioritize expansion efforts in the nation’s Title I schools.
Ten new members were elected to the Foundation board in 2020. Beginning in 2021, eight of the 15 members of the board are either minority or female, ensuring that the Foundation receives guidance and perspective from the widest variety of experiences, opinions, backgrounds and cultures.
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2021-25 Strategic Plan Like many organizations, the pandemic caused the Foundation to reassess its operation, from both an administrative and programmatic standpoint. As part of this exercise, the executive committee of the board of directors and Foundation leadership undertook efforts in the summer of 2020 to develop a new five-year strategic plan. The Foundation’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative is but one of four main tenets of the new plan, which was approved by the board of directors at its winter meeting. In addition to DEI, the Foundation’s strategic plan also focuses on value-added enhancements and efficiency improvements to its SME PRIME and scholarship programs, as well as the development and execution of new fundraising models. The first update to the Foundation’s strategic plan in nearly 10 years, the plan will serve as a road map for the continued transformation of the Foundation into a foundation for the future.
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COVID-19 Fundraising Campaign
In the wake of COVID-19, school closings and “stay at home” mandates upended the educational experience for high school students across the country. In response, the SME Education Foundation partnered with Tooling U-SME in April 2020 on a campaign to raise funds for online learning licenses for career and technical education (CTE) students across the country.
The 90-day campaign raised a total of
$43,350
for Tooling U-SME licenses, benefiting 403 students at the following schools: • Arabia Mountain High School, Stonecrest, Georgia
• Sheboygan Falls High School, Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin
• Franklin High School, Livonia, Michigan
• Southeast Polk High School, Pleasant Hill, Iowa
• Greene County Career Center, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
• Summit Technology Academy (PRIME school), Lee’s Summit, Missouri
• Leyden High School (PRIME school), Franklin Park, Illinois
• THINC College & Career Academy, LaGrange, Georgia
• Manual High School, Denver, Colorado
• Vinal Technical High School, Middletown, Connecticut
• Seattle Public Schools, Seattle, Washington
Primary Donors
SME members also donated to the fund.
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Although COVID-19 posed many challenges during 2020, the SME Education Foundation’s PRIME initiative was up to those challenges. Founded in 2011, the program — which partners PRIME schools with local industry to address the manufacturing talent shortage — was able to pivot in response to the pandemic, continuing to meet its mandate of providing a tailored curriculum and hands-on training to high school students across the country.
THE FOUNDATION WAS ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE
$1.8 MILLION
TO PRIME SCHOOLS IN 2020. Funds went toward equipment, supplies, professional development of teachers, and online instructional support — a critical part of learning in a pandemicstricken year.
The Foundation added two schools to the PRIME network in 2020. West Texas Training Center San Angelo, Texas
“We have multiple programs here at Romeo. We have robotics, machining and engineering classes that utilize SME content.”
Funded by:
Academies of Racine at Horlick High School Racine, Wisconsin
Funded by:
Tod Rawling, PRIME educator Romeo High School, Romeo, Michigan
“The Grand Haven High School PRIME program continues to move forward, creating new opportunities for kids through the support of our community sponsor — Shape Corporation — in the areas of CAD, additive manufacturing, engineering, and precision measurement and inspection.” Jeremy Case, PRIME educator Grand Haven High School Grand Haven, Michigan
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Today, the SME PRIME footprint stands at
62 SCHOOLS 22 STATES, across
a nearly
30% INCREASE in two years.
$
$1,000,000 Sustainability Fund
To further support the PRIME school network and help sustain programs after initial development, the Foundation’s board of directors established a $1 million PRIME sustainability fund in 2020. For the first time in PRIME’s 10-year history, schools will now be able to apply for additional funding after initial grant funds are depleted. PRIME sustainability funds can be used to purchase additional equipment, materials and supplies; enhance curriculum; and underwrite the cost of various STEMrelated activities.
The Foundation customized an area of the SME Connect platform to create online communities where PRIME schools can connect with their donors and each other. Piloted in 2020 for networkwide deployment in 2021, SME Connect PRIME Communities will be used to increase communication, enhance transparency, and exploit the opportunities of a connected nationwide network of CTE community educators.
“PRIME has had a profound impact on our school over the course of our multi-year relationship. Successes for 2019-20 include a new course in precision measurement instruments, a new course in robotics, new student certifications in precision measurement skills, and new relationships with local industry related to our Fanuc robot.” Christopher Snyder, PRIME educator Central Columbia High School, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
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Premier PRIME Partners and Vendors
Partnership In 2020, the PRIME program partnered with Edge Factor, an online content provider that has created thousands of videos, interactive activities and lesson plans that focus on career exploration. This new partnership will make STEM and career education materials available to new SME PRIME schools across North America in 2021. Focusing on original content that aligns with each PRIME school’s career pathways, the Edge Factor materials will be free of charge to students.
PRIME Career Pathways In 2020, the Foundation streamlined its PRIME pathway offerings to maximize impact and better align with the needs of industry. Beginning in 2021, all new PRIME schools will receive three core pathways that are both fundamental to manufacturing and engineering, and engaging to students. Additionally, each new school will also receive one of four elective pathways, based on the needs of the local manufacturing and engineering community.
Core Pathways
Elective Pathways
• Metrology and Quality
• Machining and Fabrication
• CAD/CAM
• Welding
• Additive Manufacturing
• Mechatronics and Robotics
(foundational)
(community-specific)
• Industrial Maintenance
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“I was impressed that I was able to get the circuit training via SME courses, along with PLC.” William Shepard, PRIME instructor Cornerstone Health and Technology High School Detroit, Michigan
Student Scholarships
In 2020, the Foundation received
901 APPLICATIONS
from students across North America, vying for
The SME Education Foundation’s scholarship program began in 1979. In the decades since, with the generous support of members, individuals and corporations, the Foundation’s scholarship endowment is now in the enviable position of being able to annually award millions of dollars of academic support to deserving graduating high school seniors, undergraduates and graduate students pursuing two-year or four-year degrees in manufacturing and related engineering disciplines.
SCHOLARSHIPS ranging from
$1,000 to $40,000.
Every application is reviewed and scored by three independent reviewers as part of a rigorous and coordinated effort involving hundreds of dedicated and qualified SME members, members of both the SME and SME Education Foundation boards, and other friends of the Foundation. With the process constraints imposed by pandemic conditions in 2020, the Foundation adapted by using virtual tools and other means of collaboration to award 545 scholarships totaling $1,168,650 to 534 students in 40 different states, plus the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario. This seamless and continued tradition of student support is highly dependent upon a dedicated group of scholarship reviewers, who analyze dozens of applications and supporting documentation. To them, we say “thank you!”
2020 Scholarship Reviewers (87) Yashwanth Kumar Bandari, New York Michael Barbieri, Texas Phillip Barnes, Oklahoma Jonathon Bates, Texas Thomas Bridge, Illinois Jim Campbell, Missouri Dianne Chong, Washington Bill Colebeck, Tennessee Jerry Crimer, Illinois Kelly Daly Flynn, Michigan Kathryn Daniels, Kansas Sandy de la Penotiere, Ontario, Canada Gene Degre, Massachusetts Hai Doan, Alberta, Canada Jeff Drewett, Texas Amal Driouich, Ontario, Canada Diane Elliott, Florida Raymond Floyd, Wyoming Wayne Frost, Iowa Linda Gardner, Washington Devin Grande, Texas Helen Greathouse, Rhode Island Eugene Haffner, Tennessee Derek Hefley, Oklahoma Matt Hilgendorf, Texas Robert Hilton, Washington Brian Holmes, British Columbia, Canada Edward Horn, Wisconsin Donald Hossink, New Mexico Marc Huffman, Michigan
Sagil James, California Rajendra Jani, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Jeffrey Jansen, Wisconsin Geoff Karpa, Texas Dave Koncak, Kansas Henry Kraebber, Indiana Paul Krug, Texas Thomas Kurfess, South Carolina Joe LaRussa, Michigan Lem Linder, Kentucky Josh Little, Washington Richard Litts, Pennsylvania Jianfeng (Jeff) Ma, Missouri Bruce MacKender, Oregon Gwendolyn Malone, Michigan Keith McCracken, Pennsylvania Ted McKay, California James McKirahan, Illinois Mark Michalski, Massachusetts Ross Monroe, Washington Charles Mottier, Illinois Sherman Mumford, North Carolina Paul Nguyen, Washington Niklas Olson, Wisconsin Steven Ostrowski, Michigan Michael Packer, Texas Mark Palmer, Michigan John Parker, Louisiana Frank Peters, Iowa
Sandy Pietrusza, Pennsylvania Jessica Quolke, Pennsylvania Allan Roberts, Delaware John Ruegg, Minnesota Brian Ruestow, New York Pamela Ruschau, Illinois Kyle Saleeby, Tennessee Russell Scheller, Minnesota Steven Schmid, Indiana Cecil Schneider, Georgia Kolleen Schneider, Minnesota Daniel Skurski, Michigan Stephen Skvarenina, Texas Jay Smith, Texas Scott Squires, Texas Mark Stratton, Michigan Ryan Tedjasukmana, Michigan Tara Thomasson, Texas Shawn Thompson, New York Mike Timko, Michigan Joe Vanstrom, Iowa Phil Waldrop, Georgia Jerry Walters, Tennessee Mike Watson, North Carolina Melissa Wheeler, Virginia Robert Williams, Georgia Xiaomei Yu, Connecticut Xiaowei Yue, Virginia
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Directors Scholarship Awarded to three students, the 2020 Directors Scholarship honored Glen Pearson, PhD, who served on the Foundation’s board of directors from 2003-2012. While on the board, Pearson held numerous positions, including director, secretary, vice president and president. He now holds chair emeriti status. A generous contributor to the Foundation, Pearson received the Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement recognition in 2014.
Abraham Delshad Northern Kentucky University
Curtis Peters Iowa State University
Caroline Neighbors University of Michigan – Dearborn
Major: Manufacturing Engineering/Technology
Major: Industrial Engineering
Major: Manufacturing Engineering/Technology
Family Scholarship SME Education Foundation 2020 Family Scholarships were awarded to three students who have a parent or grandparent who is an SME member. This highly competitive scholarship, made possible by the E. Wayne Kay Scholarship Fund, is awarded to students who demonstrate academic excellence and an interest in manufacturing engineering or related technology. E. Wayne Kay and his wife Beulah attended Iowa State University, and built a very successful metal plating company in Detroit in the 1940s. Kay served as chair of SME Chapter 1 in 1945. The Kay endowment of scholarship funds makes possible the annual awards to SME Family students.
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Daphne Agapiou University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Frederick Eichhorn III University of Maryland College Park
Spencer Vanderbilt Kansas State University
Major: Biomedical Engineering/Technology
Major: Computer Engineering
Major: Biomedical Engineering/Technology
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NEWIN2020 NEW IN
2020
New scholarship funds are often established, reflecting the continued commitment and generosity of SME member chapters, individual donors, and engaged corporate and community contributors. In recognition of the contributions made by past SME Members John Mungerson, Eleanor McLester, John Fluke Sr. and Ed Rossman, as well as Seattle Robotics Chapter 314 and SME Region 14, SME Seattle Chapter 39 announced establishment of the SME Seattle Chapter 39 Memorial Endowed Scholarship.
2020 Corporate Donors M A CHINERYSYSTEMS
P R E C I S I O N
M A C H I N I N G
SME Chapter 008 Pittsburgh
SME Cincinnati Chapter 21
366 INDIVIDUAL DONORS
generously contributed to the Foundation in 2020. We thank them for their help, which is crucial to our mission: inspiring, preparing and supporting the next generation of manufacturing and engineering talent. 15
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