Big corporations love Penn State. This probably isn’t news to you, since you’ve likely read this oft-cited Wall Street Journal article ranking Penn State as the top destination for corporate recruiters, and it’s no secret that the university is contracted for research by many companies. Accordingly, executives from General Electric (GE), Siemens Corporation, and Volvo will be visiting Penn State over the next two weeks to highlight and discuss their respective relationships with the university.

GENERAL ELECTRIC

GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt will be at Penn State on October 26^th. According to Penn State Live, Penn State is “among GE’s top five schools for recruitment and employs about 1,000 alumni”, and is a recipient of over $23 million from the GE Foundation through its support of Penn State research and philanthropy. In addition to ceremonially presenting a check to University President Rodney Erickson, Immelt will lead a discussion titled “Competing for the Future” on business, leadership, and competition, moderated, by Smeal College of Business Dean Charles Whiteman.

Oh, and Immelt will tour our snazzy new Millenium Science Complex. Makes sense, since it houses two institutes that likely benefit from GE’s grants: the Materials Research Institute and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

SIEMENS CORPORATION

On October 29^th, Eric Spiegel, President and CEO of Siemens Corporation, will be visiting University Park to announce a “strategic partnership agreement” between Siemens and Penn State regarding research collaboration and “an enhanced recruiting relationship” with the university. This will be the first partnership of its kind between the company and an American university.

Spiegel and other members of Siemens management will also be meeting with university leadership regarding current and future partnerships in research and development.

VOLVO

Volvo Chief Technology Officer Torbjörn Holmström and other members of Volvo’s leadership team will be at Penn State on November 1^st to announce an academic preferred talent partnership with Penn State, now one of six universities worldwide selected by Volvo for their “academic standing, student diversity, international connections, and research capabilities”.

Volvo, during their stay here at University Park, will also get to see the Millenium Science Complex in addition to other Penn State facilities related to their partnership with the university.